Promises and friendships
by chocolate cherry bunny
Summary: What is Damon took his promise to Emily to heart? What if he was an active guardian to every generation of Bennetts? How would this affect his relationship with Bonnie? Starts prior to the pilot episode and is AU from there
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: Vampire Diaries belong to L. J. Smith and the CW. I do not own them. I'm only taking the characters out to play.

Bonnie Bennett had turned 17 a week ago and while her family and friends had thrown her a party the weekend before, Grams had insisted on having a quiet dinner to discuss her inheritance. Bonnie figured that Grams wanted to try to talk to her again about being a so-called witch. Bonnie still thought Grams had been taking her text books far too seriously but she loved her grandmother so she'd humor her.

Bonnie walked in the door of her grandmother's spacious, warm home and inhaled the delicious flavors wafting from the kitchen. "Grams?" she called.

"In here, Baby," Sheila Bennett called back from the kitchen.

Bonnie strolled into the kitchen with a smile on her face. "Is that what I think it is?" Bonnie asked peaking under the lid of a pot simmering on the stove.

Grams lightly swatted the girl's hand away from the pot. "Brunswick stew and buttermilk biscuits." She said proudly. Teaching a full course load at the college often left Sheila with little time to cook more than pasta and sauce or grill something outside so she was always tickled that she did indeed know how to cook.

"Chicken?"

"What do you take me for?" The older woman tried to look insulted. "Rabbit. There's also marble cake for dessert."

"Grams, you didn't have to go to so much trouble. I would've have been just fine with a burger out on the grill." Bonnie chided her grandmother. With her mother going awol when Bonnie was just a toddler and her father being out of town on business so much, Bonnie relied on Grams for a nurturing environment. "What can I do to help?"

"Nonsense. It's been too long since I fussed over a meal and tonight is very special." Sheila handed a stack of plates, cloth napkins and silverware to Bonnie. "Would you set the table in the dining room?"

"Sure" Bonnie took the stack then noticed that there were three of everything she was handed. "Are we expecting someone else?"

"Yes," Sheila turned to the oven and checked the biscuits that were baking, purposely avoiding her grand-daughter's eyes. "I've invited an old friend of mine to join us and help me explain a few things."

Bonnie rolled her eyes while setting three spots at the table. "Another professor?" _Just what I need, _Bonnie thought, _another crackpot who believes fairy tales._

"No," Sheila answered. "I've known Damon since long before I started teaching."

Just then the doorbell rang causing Bonnie to jump just a little. "He's right on time, as always," Sheila exclaimed. "Baby, would you let him in?"

Bonnie went to the door expecting to see older gentleman, perhaps in tweed. Instead, the man standing at the door was maybe 24 years old with messy dark hair and startling blue eyes. This could not be Grams' friend. The divorcee next door was a bit of a cougar and this hottie must have turned up the wrong walk. Bonnie quickly checked him out. The cougar's taste was definitely improving. He was dressed in boots, snug jeans and a tailored black dress shirt unbuttoned enough that the girl got just a hint of the chest underneath. He wasn't extremely tall but still a good bit taller than Bonnie's 5'2" frame. He had a bottle of wine cradled in the same arm that was also holding a grocery sack that a mixed bouquet peaked out of.

The man in question smirked softly when he realized that he was being scoped. "You must be Bonnie." He said with a tilt of his head. "I'm Damon."

Bonnie's jaw dropped. "You're an _old _friend of Grams?"

"An older friend than you can imagine." Damon chuckled lightly. "May I come in? I think the ice cream might be melting."

Sheila appeared behind Bonnie, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Since when do you need an invitation into my home, Damon Salvatore?"

Bonnie stepped aside and watched as Damon stepped close to Sheila and handed her the bottle of wine. "Never, I hope." He then swooped Sheila into a bear hug. "Cara mia, you are as gorgeous as always."

"Flatterer." Sheila pulled away from Damon to swat him playfully with the towel. "You never change."

"And neither do you." Damon countered. "Hitting the man bringing presents." He gestured toward the bottle and to the bag now apparently holding ice cream as well as flowers. "Shall we go open the wine?

With that Damon walked into the kitchen with the Bennett ladies at his heels.

Bonnie could only watch mutely as Damon navigated her grandmother's kitchen with ease. He slid the carton of fudge ripple ice cream into the freezer then opened a cabinet to retrieve a vase for the flowers. He also seemed to know exactly where Sheila kept her cork screw and wine glasses.

As she transferred the stew to a tureen, Sheila eyed Damon pouring three glasses of wine. "Corrupting my grand-daughter already, are you?"

"I didn't hear you complaining when it was you I was corrupting." Damon pretended to be affronted. "And as I recall you were younger than 17 and the alcohol was a bit harder than pinot noir." He handed two glasses to Sheila and one to Bonnie. "I'll carry the tureen in."

Sheila led the way into the dining room followed by Damon, leaving Bonnie to grab the basket of warm biscuits.

Arriving at the table, Damon seated Sheila at the head of the table but Bonnie beat him by seating herself. "Okay, I'm confused." Bonnie looked between her grandmother and Damon. "You two act like Damon is the older of you."

"That's because he is, Baby." Sheila responded.

"Much," was Damon's comment as he took the seat opposite Bonnie.

"Either that's really good plastic surgery and a lot of moisturizer or you're pulling my leg." Bonnie was not pleased with this joke.

"Bonnie," Sheila began, "I told you that you and I were different , that in some ways we were more complicated than most humans. Well Damon is even more complicated."

The teenager was growing impatient. "So what is he? Let me guess, a warlock or something."

"Not exactly." Sheila began. She hadn't rehearsed or planned how she would tell Bonnie about the supernatural and now she was at a loss.

Damon could see his old friend starting to unravel and decided he better step in. "Actually, I'm a vampire."

Bonnie let out a bark of laughter. "Now I'm certain you're pulling my leg."

Damon looked at Sheila as if silently asking her a question. Sheila shook her head. "The child won't believe till she sees with her own eyes."

Damon gave a curt nod and turned back toward Bonnie. What Bonnie saw had her gasping and pushing back from the table so fast that she nearly toppled her chair. Damon's eyes had turned blood red with black veins protruding around them. His mouth was slightly open and his teeth were jagged and the canines elongated.

As her chair teetered, Damon suddenly flashed around the table and was steadying Bonnie to keep her from falling. His face back to its handsome countenance.

"yooouuuu...oh god, what are you?" Bonnie stuttered.

Sheila stood up and placed a hand on Damon's shoulder. "It's okay, Baby. Damon is no threat to us." Damon took Sheila's hand and kissed her knuckles before returning to his seat. "In fact, he's been guardian to our family for generations."

Bonnie took a healthy swallow of wine as Sheila began to dish up the stew. They ate for a moment in silence, at least the older two of the party did, to allow Bonnie a moment to digest this revelation.

"So," The girl finally said after calming her heart rate. "If you are a vampire," she looked out the window at the setting sun, "shouldn't you only be able to come out after dark?"

Damon smiled. "Normally that would be true but your great grandmother Emily was a rather gifted witch." He raised his hand up showing off a large ring with a blue stone. "The ring has a spell attached to it to allow me to walk in the sunlight."

"And the other stuff in books and movies? I mean you're eating but what about crosses, holy water, silver and stakes." Now that the world stopped spinning Bonnie was amazed.

Damon buttered a biscuit and took a bite before answering. "A stake through the heart is a sure way to kill a vampire but you better be strong enough to fight the vamp while driving it."

He touched is sternum. "You have to make it through solid bone before piercing the heart and unless the vampire is already starved near the point of desiccation, you won't be able to sneak up on him or her before being attacked yourself. Crosses, holy water and silver also don't affect us." He took another bite of his biscuit chewing thoughtfully. "As to food, my body pretty much acts as it was when I was human so long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system."

"Human blood?"

"Usually. Animal blood does in a pinch but it's not as vital. A vampire who subsists solely on animal blood is weaker than a vampire that feeds off humans and is more likely to be unstable around human blood."

Bonnie cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"I feed off humans regularly. I'm able to take just what I need and leave the donor alive. I'm also able to be around someone who is bleeding without feeling the need to attack them. I might go into game face for a moment but would be able to regain calm in seconds. A vampire who feeds strictly from animals might not be able to control himself around human blood and could seriously hurt or kill the human." Damon looked down at his plate for a moment as if thinking of something that made him terribly sad.

"Did you ever kill someone while feeding?"

"Yes" Bonnie's eyes opened wide at the vampire's admission. "I'm not proud of killing or even hurting someone. In the beginning I had no one to teach me how to drink without going too far and since then I've lost my temper on more than a couple occasions and did things I regretted."

Sheila took Damon's hand and gave it a squeeze before addressing her grand-daughter. "We all have our own demons that we face but Damon has always looked out for our family and we can trust him."

Damon then proceeded to tell Bonnie the story of growing up in Mystic Falls and a beautiful female vampire that came to live in his father's house during the Civil War. The main course was complete and they had moved on to coffee and cake with ice cream. Bonnie was still amazed that Damon ate with gusto, complimenting Sheila's culinary skill.

"So neither you nor your brother realized that you were both in love with the same woman and that she was stringing you both along?" Bonnie asked with concern.

"Not at first." Damon toyed with his wine glass. " My brother was a fair amount younger so I thought he was crushing on her and she was just being polite to him. I was a naive idiot."

"So you asked Emily to help you protect Katherine from the founding families in exchange for protecting her family during the war?"

"Once I became a vampire, I vowed to Emily that I would always look after her descendants."

"And you always have." Sheila added. "Soon it will be time to fulfill Emily's end of the bargain. The comet is to pass over in just a few weeks and we'll be able to open the tomb with the charged amulet."

"If Katherine was such a two timing bitch to come between you and your brother, are you sure you want to open the tomb?" Bonnie could not help her questioning.

Damon sadly smiled. "Once upon a time, I loved Katherine. Then she tore Stefan and I apart. Now I want my curiosity satisfied and I want revenge."

"How so?"

"When I release Katherine from the tomb, make her tell me who she really did love if she even loved either of us, and then I'll rip out her heart." Damon's look was grim.

Sheila sighed. "You're an honorable man, Damon Salvatore but you're letting this need for revenge eat your soul. Its keeping you from moving forward. What will you do after you're done?

"I haven't thought that far." Damon hesitated. "I'll still have Bennetts to look after, I suppose." He winked at Sheila.

"Well," Sheila sighed once more, "There is one more thing that you might need to think about."

"What's that?"

"I didn't ask you to come back to Mystic Falls just to help me convince Bonnie of her heritage." Sheila turned to Bonnie. "The pictures from your party are on the kitchen counter, would you bring the picture I took of you and Elena to show Damon?"

Bonnie stood to retrieve the picture, unsure why she needed to show it to Damon.

"Elena?"

"Yes, Elena Gilbert. She and Bonnie have been friends most of their lives but I hadn't really seen her since last Spring when her parents were killed and truthfully I didn't pay much attention to how she had grown until I saw her at Bonnie's birthday party."

Bonnie returned to the table and handed the snap shot to Damon. The picture contained a picture of Bonnie hugging a girl with long straight brown hair and big brown eyes.

"Katherine," Damon breathed, "how?"

"That's Elena," Bonnie replied.

Still looking at the photo, Damon pulled his wallet from his back pocket and slid out a folded photograph that he handed to Bonnie. The girl unfolded the aged likeness to see what she first thought was a picture of her best friend till she saw the date written in the corner. 1864. "What's going on?"

"I wish I knew." Damon responded absently, stilling looking at the photo taken only a week before. "She's a Gilbert? A member of a founding family?" Sheila nodded. "And you say her parents died recently?"

Bonnie nodded this time. "Her parents were picking her up from a party that was going on in the woods. Elena says she remembers her dad swerving to avoid hitting a deer and they crashed through the guard rail on Wickery Bridge into the river. She remembers the car submerging but doesn't remember how she got out of the car. The news reported that an unidentified male is listed as calling 911 that he witnessed a car go over the bridge and when emergency services got to the scene, Elena was unconscious on shore but no one was with her and her parents were still trapped in the car, drowned. When divers retrieved the bodies, one said it looked like the back door had been ripped from its hinges."

"That is strange." Damon rubbed a hand over his mouth and jaw. "looks like things are getting interesting again in this sleepy town. Bonnie, do you have a cell phone?"

"Uh yeah, why?"

"May I see it for a second?" Damon held out his hand as if assured that that his request would not be refused.

Bonnie fished the phone out of her pocket and handed it to Damon. who quickly typed his number into the phone and handed it back to Bonnie.

"I set my number to speed dial number 9." He told her.

"Why number 9?

"short for 911, of course." Damon grinned. "Salvatore is for savior, remember that. I can usually keep track of you when you're outside or near some windows but when you're at school or somewhere, I want you to call me immediately if you sense anything wrong. Anything at all."

"You can keep an eye on me when I'm outside? Even when you aren't in town?" Bonnie was skeptical.

"Ever notice how many ravens seem to like congregating outside this house, your house and the school?"

"I guess, but they're just birds."

"A talent of many a vampire," Damon bragged, " I can connect with some animals and use them as my eyes and ears."

"Oh, handy." Bonnie glanced at her watch. It was later than she planned. "Class starts tomorrow. I need to go home and sleep. " She stood up and began clearing the table.

Damon and Sheila stood with her to finish clearing the table. Once the dishwasher was loaded and leftovers put away, Damon offered to drive Bonnie home.

"It's only two blocks from here. I can walk, Damon."

"Then let me walk you home and make sure you arrive safely."

"Fine"

Bonnie hugged her grandmother and picked up her purse.

Sheila then hugged Damon. "Thank you. Why don't you stopped back in after seeing Bonnie home. We'll have a night cap."

"Then I shall be back shortly."

As the two walked down the street, Damon could tell that Bonnie was still full of questions.

"So, Damon?"

"Yes, Bonnie?"

"How old was my grandmother when you met her?"

"Her mother introduced us formally when she was 15. Sheila was already showing signs of being quite the political activist. Her mother thought she might need a body guard if any of the rallys got out of hand."

"Did you and her ever..." Bonnie trailed off.

"Did we ever what? Amusement crept into Damon's voice. "Did we date, have sex?" His eyes lit up as he watched the girl blush under the streetlights. "No, we were never intimate in that way."

"Why not? You obviously found her attractive."

Damon sighed. "I'm not a nice person, Bonnie. I'm a downright dick with most people. You're grandmother is a tough cookie. She accepted me as I was and as much as I pushed, she pushed right back. We became friends and while there may have been a physical attraction neither of us were in love with the other. Dating her or sleeping with her would have only made a mess of our friendship and I never want to lose that."

"Is Katherine the only woman you've ever been in love with?"

"Sometimes I'm not so sure if I really loved her or if it was just infatuation. I may never have been in love."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought up Katherine." Bonnie realized she was treading into the wrong territory with this man. "So, my dad? Does he know what you are?"

"Your dad believed in witchcraft but he quickly decided to turn his back on it. Sheila didn't bother to introduce us. I've kept my eye on him but he's never done anything to catch unwanted attention."

"And me? Why me?"

"You're already growing in power, Bonnie." They had reached Bonnie's house and were standing on the porch. "Sheila was not about to let you deny your gift. So she called in the big guns."

Bonnie laughed at this. "Do you want to come in?"

Damon shook his head. "Rule number one: never invite someone into your home unless you trust them implicitly."

"Grams trusts you. Why shouldn't I?"

"Well if you put it that way, I guess you can trust me." The smirk was back. "But you have school tomorrow and need your rest." Damon picked up one of Bonnie's hand and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Sleep well, sweet Bonnie. I'll see you soon"

As their hands touched, Bonnie got a sensation of just how lonely Damon really was. There were flashes of anger but mostly she just felt an overwhelming sadness. She quickly tugged Damon into a hug. "Thank you for watching over me. I'll talk to you soon?"

It took a moment for Damon to return the hug. He had not expected her to do it. "I'll check in with you after your done with classes." He finally broke away. "Good night."

Bonnie unlocked the front door and looked one last time at Damon before stepping inside and closing the door. "Good night, Damon."

Listening for Bonnie to relock the door, Damon sped back to Sheila's house. Tapping lightly at the door before letting himself in, he found Sheila pouring two glasses of bourbon.

"Well that actually went smoother than expected." the woman handed a glass to the vampire. "What did you two talk about on the walk home."

Damon took a sip of the whiskey. "She was curious about if you and I had dated."

"And what did you tell her?"

"The truth, of course."

"You could have just exaggerated a bit and let her think that her academically minded grandmother once had a torrid affair with a handsome, bad ass vampire?"

Damon laughed. "No, I'd rather her keep in mind that her awesome grandmother is the best if not only friend of this bad ass vampire." He clinked his glass against hers.

"So" Sheila started, "Why do you think Elena Gilbert looks like your Katherine?"

"I don't know but I aim to find out." Damon's jaw was set, "And before we open the tomb."

"Do you think your brother is involved in this?"

"Maybe. Though if he isn't already, he will be if he ever sees Elena Gilbert. I doubt he could resist."

"Is Bonnie in any danger?"

"Not if I can help it, Sheila." Damon promised, "Not if I can help it."


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: Vampire Diaries still belong to L. J. Smith and the CW. I do not own them. I'm only taking the characters out to play. The reviews are making me feel warm and fuzzy. Please keep them coming.

Bonnie woke to the smell of frying bacon just before her alarm. The events of last night had left her with too much to think about. She had tossed and turned for hours before finally dropping off. Now someone was cooking breakfast in her kitchen. She was pretty sure of who was downstairs but after last night, why take chances. Bonnie quietly turned off her alarm clock and slipped out of bed. Grabbing her old softball bat, she descended the stairs and crossed to the kitchen. Grams was at the stove and Bonnie sighed with relief.

"First dinner last night, and now you're making me breakfast?" Bonnie set the bat down and hugged her grandmother. "You're spoiling me."

Grams kissed the girl's cheek. "What kind of grandmother would I be if I let you go to the first day of school on nothing more than coffee and pop tarts?" She then turned Bonnie around by the shoulders and gave her a nudge. "Go get showered, this will be ready by the time you're dressed."

Bonnie quickly showered and dressed. As promised a plate piled high with scramble eggs, bacon and French toast casserole awaited her. She poured herself a glass of juice and sat down to eat. "Shouldn't you be on campus, Grams?"

The older woman took a sip of her coffee. "The new semester doesn't start till next week. I need to go to my office later to set up some new files and double check that the books store got in all the text books I requested. I swear if the publisher screwed up my order again, I'll set someone's heels on fire."

Bonnie nearly choked. "We can do that?"

"Uh huh. Well I can, I suppose it will take you a little practice."

Bonnie nodded. "What else can we do?"

Grams looked at her grand-daughter thoughtfully. "Some things are innate. Impressions when you touch a person or item. Dreams that then happen in reality."

"You mean psychic stuff? I thought all of that was just coincidence"

"Nope, but things like spells and other talents need practice." Grams leaned her elbows on the table. "Bonnie , are you really okay with what you learned last night? It's one thing to listen to someone tell you that the supernatural exists, it's another have it proved true."

Bonnie wiped her lips with a napkin. "I'll admit I was pretty freaked out and I didn't sleep well last night but I'm better now. I mean how many girls can say they have a vampire guardian angel."

Grams laughed for a second. "Just remember, Damon is very good at turning on the charm when he wants but he is still a predator. He may have promised to protect our family but as far as he is concerned, all bets are off for anyone who isn't a Bennett. He has a short fuse on a very nasty temper. You may need to reign him in occasionally."

"How do I do that? I mean he is a vampire. What can I do against a vampire?"

"Come to my house after school, I'll show you a few tricks of the trade." Grams patted her hand. "When do you need to leave for school?"

Bonnie looked at her watch. "I should get going. I'm picking up Elena."

"It wouldn't be a good idea to tell her about the vampires. The less she knows right now the safer she is."

"Can I tell her about being a witch?" Bonnie asked while slipping on her jacket.

"You can try but I doubt that she'd believe you anymore than you believed me a few weeks ago."

Laughing, Bonnie hugged her grandmother. "I guess I'll just have to wing it." She then headed out the door.

As Bonnie and Elena headed toward the school, Bonnie realized that her friend was seriously zoning. Not being able to think of anything to say, she figured she might as well tell Elena about being psychic and descended from Salem witches. Elena was obviously only half way listening till something hit the windshield. Bonnie swerved and pulled over to make sure Elena was okay. Looking around, Bonnie noticed a raven perched atop a street sign. Grinding her teeth, Bonnie pulled back onto the road.

Once at school, Bonnie pulled out her phone and sent a text to Damon. **WTF with the bird? I thought you were to protect me not get me killed? -B**

Her phone buzzed as she and Elena entered the building. **Gotta keep you on your toes, little witch. Besides no harm no foul. I take it that was Elena G in the car with you?-D**

"Really, really! No harm no foul?" Bonnie muttered to herself. When Elena raised an eyebrow at her, Bonnie quickly diverted to comment on some sophomore's god-awful print dress.

Damon chuckled to himself as he sent the text off to Bonnie. He hadn't meant to have the bird crash but he was trying to see who was in the car with her. Still no sense telling the witch that.

He drummed his fingers on the table . The bird that followed Bonnie to school also caught a glimpse of another face. Stefan was at the school. _What are you doing there, little brother?_

His phone rang, snapping Damon out of his pondering. "Cara mia," he answered.

"My place. NOW!" The voice on the other end of the line demanded before the line went dead.

Damon entered Sheila's house to find himself facing a very pissed off witch.

She slapped the morning's paper down onto the coffee table and crossed her arms. "What the hell do you think you were doing?"

"Huh?" Damon picked up the paper and scanned the front page and finally understanding. "Do you really think I'd be so careless?" He demanded. "Come on, you know me better than that. Even if I had gone on a bender, I'm good at covering my tracks."

"So you didn't kill that couple?"

"No." Seeing Sheila eyeball him, "NO!" he repeated. "Jesus, Sheila."

"So there's another vampire in the area?"

"Stefan's here"

"What?..Where?"

"Looks like he enrolled himself at the high school."

"Oh god...Bonnie." Sheila covered her mouth with a hand and started to pace.

"I doubt that Bonnie has even come up on Stef's radar." Damon tried to assure his friend. "I'm thinking that my brother only has eyes for the Katherine look-a-like just yet." Placing his hands on Sheila's shoulders, he stopped her pacing. "I'm going to tail Stefan today and see if we're dealing with a psychotic ripper or a broody bunny muncher." Damon stroked his thumbs over her collar bones. "I will figure out what he's up to, I promise."

Bonnie sat at a picnic table picking at her lunch. This morning she had hoped that Elena would meet someone new, someone who would pull her out of the depression she had been in since her parents' deaths. Instead the hottie that couldn't seem to keep his eyes off Elena in history class turned out to be Stefan Salvatore. Bonnie nearly squeaked when she heard his name during roll call.

A large black bird landed on the bicycle rack near Bonnie's table and fanned its wings. Bonnie stuck her tongue out at the bird. A moment later her phone buzzed with a text.

**Now what did that innocent bird ever do to you? -D **the message read.

**Besides scaring me to death this morning, not a thing. -B** she replied. **It hasn't been a good morning. -B**

**I take it you met my brother. -D**

**In a manner of speaking. I have a couple classes with him. -B**

**And? -D**

**He stares at Elena a lot and Caroline wants to jump him. -B**

**Not surprising about Elena. Who's Caroline?-D**

**A friend, fellow cheerleader. -B**

**The one who looks like a Barbie Doll?-D**

**Yup. -B**

**I hope she doesn't act like one. -D**

**No comment. - B**

Bonnie was grinning ear to ear by the time Elena and Caroline sat down with her. "What's got you in such a good mood?" Elena asked.

Quickly clearing the screen of her phone, Bonnie shrugged. "Just texting with a friend."

"Oh really?" Caroline eyed her friend, "Would this be a friend of the male persuasion?"

"Maybe." Bonnie took a bite of the lunchroom meatloaf wishing she had eaten more of her grandmother's stew last night.

Elena perked up at Bonnie's admission. Her friend rarely showed much interest in guys apart from friendship.

"Well, give us details already." Caroline pressed.

"Not much to tell. I just met him." Bonnie was well aware that Damon was possibly listening in on the conversation. "So what do you think of the new guy?"

Bringing up Stefan kicked Caroline into high gear laying out her plan to nab this bit of fresh meat for herself. Bonnie and Elena could do little more than nod at the blonde until the bell rang signaling the end of lunch period.

Bonnie's phone buzzed while she grabbed a notebook from her locker.

**Barbie Doll, definitely. -D** Bonnie giggled.

**Won't be able to meet you after class. Going to check up on lil bro. -D**

Bonnie frowned. She wasn't sure why but she was disappointed that she wouldn't see Damon today.

**NP. I'm going to Grams after school anyway. Says she'll teach me a couple tricks of the trade.-B**

Bonnie tucked her phone into her pocket and went to her next classroom.

Damon stayed to the shadows of the cemetery and wondered what his brother was doing there. It wasn't like Stefan to get nostalgic and visit any of the family graves. Then he saw her. The girl who looked so much like Katherine was sitting in front of a grave scribbling away in a book.

_Okay Elena Gilbert, let's see what stuff you're made of._ Stefan was far enough away that he wouldn't see what was going on so Damon looked to a tree where his raven perched. The bird took flight then landed on the grave stone Elena faced. After a moment, the girl greeted the bird. Damon nodded his own unseen greeting and then allowed the fog to sweep across the ground toward her. Despite the sunshine, Elena was visibly upset. She grabbed her bag and ran from the site. Damon allowed her just a brief glimpse of his silhouette before tucking into the shadows again. He watched as she dashed away, then fell only to be assisted by Stefan.

Watching Stefan struggle and then bolt away from the sight of blood had Damon chuckling. _So you are keeping to the furry diet, aren't you_. He thought. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved that his brother was in such a weakened state or worried about the next fall from grace that was bound to happen.

Despite having eaten with Grams, Bonnie felt starved as she entered the Mystic Grill. Grams had begun teaching her a few things this afternoon that required a lot of concentration. Grams had also described how to cause an aneurysm in a vampire's brain.

"_It won't kill one, but he'll think twice about his current plan of action." _Grams had said.

What her grandmother had neglected to tell her is the calories she would be burning during all this. Now all Bonnie wanted was coffee and something sweet.

Unfortunately she was beset by a starry eyed Caroline hoping to marry Stefan Salvatore and a mopey Matt Donovan who was still at a loss from his break up with Elena. Bonnie could only try to empathize with both of her friends. She could not very well tell Caroline that Stefan was far too old for her or tell Matt that he was far too young to be acting like he just lost his one true love.

When Elena and Stefan entered the grill together, Bonnie wanted to bang her head against something as Caroline tried her best to cozy up to Stefan and Matt sulked near the pool tables. Instead the witch pasted on a smile and made small talk. Somehow she wasn't surprised that Stefan didn't mention Damon when asked if he had siblings.

Caroline for her part had unknowingly invited a vampire to the annual beginning of school beer bash and managed to convince both Elena and Bonnie to attend as well.

Bonnie made mental note to see if Damon could attend.

By the next morning, the student body was already showing signs that the sparkle of the new school year had already worn off. The history teacher, Mr. Tanner, was proving himself to be the same ass-hat he was the year before. Bonnie was sorely tempted to try out one of her new tricks and set his heels on fire.

However, the annual back to school party that evening lightened everyone's mood. Couples were making out , dares were being given and accepted everywhere. After a beer, Elena teased Bonnie about her 'psychic' gift and offered her a fallen beer bottle as a crystal ball. Reaching for the bottle neck, their hands touched. Bonnie saw a glimpse of Elena's experience in the cemetery the previous day. Before she could stop herself, Bonnie was recounting the incident only to halt when she realized that she what she had seen did happen.

Blaming the alcohol, Bonnie hurried away from Elena and toward the makeshift bar. As she dipped her solo cup into the vat of jungle juice, a hand snagged her arm and pulled her into the shadows.

An unopened beer was thrust into her now empty hand. "Trust me, you don't want to know what's lurking in the bottom of that punch bowl," a distinct male voice told her. "Leave that stuff for those of us who can actually heal our livers or those who don't deserve their livers."

Bonnie looked up into the face she had hoped to see tonight. "Hi"was all she could think to say.

"Hi, yourself." Damon smiled down at her before scanning the crowd for his brother. After a moment he caught sight of him with Elena. Damon still wondered how long Stefan had been off the good stuff and then a plan formulated. He turned to Bonnie, "I need to do something. Whatever you see later, remember it's all part of a bigger picture."

"What are you talking about?" Bonnie tried to ask but Damon had already moved farther into the darkness.

Damon walked through the woods and stilled as he saw a couple teenagers making out against a tree. The girl, while totally trashed, obviously wasn't into it and was trying to push off the self absorbed jerk sucking on her neck. Damon was considering whether he wanted to drain the boy and leave the girl for bait, when another boy found the couple and stopped the tryst. He watched the macho act of both boys and how the girl blew off her rescuer. Bingo! That was his cue.

Following the stoned girl deeper into the trees, the vampire struck out at her. Damon didn't bother wiping her memory but instead planted a command, when asked by her friends what happened, she was to tell them exactly what attacked her. He then drained her to the point of unconsciousness and lowered her to the ground. _Let's see how you handle this Stef._

Later Damon made a slow turn around, examining his bedroom. Zach did do a great job of keeping the old place up. Still it was fun seeing his nephew's face when he waltzed in the front door after leaving Stefan on the walkway to lick his wounds. If Damon thought it was fun surprising Zach, egging on and then kicking Stefan's ass was the cherry on the sundae. Did little brother really think he could handle living among the humans and keeping his secrets with as weak as he was now. Surely not.

The only sure thing was Stefan's new obsession with Elena Gilbert. That would only lead to trouble for everyone. Why the hell did the girl look like Katherine anyway? She was a Gilbert and he knew for a fact that Katherine was not in any way part of that founding family tree. Maybe that was something else he should torture out of the bitch queen before ripping her heart out.

Speaking of trouble, Damon thought about his newest obligation. The burgeoning Bennett witch was going to be quite the handful much like her grandmother. He supposed he should go talk to Bonnie before either she or Sheila gave him an aneurysm. Yanking on his jacket again, he hopped the balcony railing and dropped to the ground.

Bonnie just wanted Caroline to sober up enough to take her home. Leaving a drunken Caroline with Sheriff Forbes would not be good. Before leaving the party site, she had tried to warn Elena that she thought this wasn't the end of the trouble. She wasn't sure why Damon had attacked Vicki Donovan but she was going to make his head explode when she saw him again.

Caroline was whining about how Elena always got the great guys when Bonnie felt something hit the back of her head. Turning casually she saw Damon about to pelt her with another spit ball. At her scowl, Damon smirked and gestured with his head to come with him outside. Bonnie's scowl deepened and Damon pouted and gestured again. He then stood and walked out the back way to the alley. Bonnie huffed and then excused herself. Caroline had missed the whole thing as her face was currently in her hands.

Entering the alley, Bonnie pictured the capillaries in Damon's head exploding.

"Oooooowwww!" Damon yelled as he dropped to one knee gripping his head. "What the hell, witch?

"What did you attack Vicki?" The witch in question demanded.

"Is that her name? She a friend of yours?" It wasn't the worst blow he'd ever received. Sheila was still stronger.

"She's my friend's sister." Bonnie was losing focus "Does it really matter if she's a friend or not?"

When he was able to stand, Damon blinked his eyes to clear his vision. "I didn't kill her, now did I?" Brushing off his pant leg, he continued. "She's part of a little experiment."

"You left her to die," Bonnie exclaimed, unable to comprehend that the man who was supposedly swore to protect her would be so uncaring about others.

"No," Damon objected, "if she hadn't been found shortly, I would have lured someone out to find her"

"But why?"

"Like I said, just a little experiment."

"And you're not going to tell me what that experiment is about, are you?"

"Not yet," Damon grinned. "But I promise to explain once I know the results. Now do you need help getting the Barbie home?"

"No, I think I can manage." Bonnie raised her chin stubbornly.

"Okay then. I'll be around. Our comet will soon be here."

Bonnie headed toward the door leading back into the Grill. Turning her head to back to bid Damon goodnight she found he was already gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: Loving the reviews and I promise no Delena in this story. I'm also not killing off characters I would have kept alive if I owned the Vampire Diaries.**

Damon prowled the hospital, waiting for Stefan to show. It was only a matter of time till his brother got word that Vicki had uttered the v-word upon waking last night but he was all but catatonic by the time his baby brother finally arrived.

Stefan's ineffective attempt at compulsion on one doped up stoner and his lame retreat from the hospital left Damon shaking his head. Did Stefan really believe that he'd be able to keep his secret under wraps when he was like this? The Donovan boy saw him and Stefan wasn't strong enough to convince the human that he'd never been there so he ran . A wake up call was waiting for Stef and his big brother was more than willing to dial that phone.

Damon arrived at the boarding house just before Elena did. He gave the girl kudos for keeping her composure after having a bird nearly fly at her face and then almost crashing into the man himself. She was even nonchalant when the 'ex-girlfriend' was brought up. The only thing that seemed to throw her off was Stefan's soured milk expression.

_Jesus, Stef. Did you think that her and I would never meet or that she'd never find out that you come with baggage?_ Damon had not flirted with the girl nor did she seem exceptionally enticed by him so what was Stef's problem? And hell, if the Big Brooder though Damon had said anything inappropriate, he just blew his chance to do damage control as Elena hustled out the door. _Real smooth, kid._

Stefan tried to give his brother grief about the episode but Damon had no trouble derailing him. A couple snarky remarks and Stefan backed down. _What did Katherine ever see in you, little brother? Would her being there made any difference? _Damon wondered, not for the first time, if saving Katherine from the round up would have changed anything.

Damon did not like the path his thoughts were taking. He learned long ago not to play the 'what if' game.

Entering his room, Damon threw himself onto his bed and pulled out his phone. Time to check on his newest charge.

**Are you at home?-D**

**Nope - B**

**Shouldn't you be doing homework or something ? -D**

**I am doing something. I'm folding programs for tomorrow night. - B**

**Programs? Tomorrow night?-D**

**You've been away too long. The city council will find any reason to throw a party-B**

Damon shook his head. Weren't the Founders Day activities about to get in full swing? And the council was wasting money on a comet.

**How's the experiment coming?-B**

**All the components are in place. Now we wait. -D**

**For what?-B**

**To see if my hypotheses is correct -D**

Damon heard the front door slam and knew Stefan was off to hunt his four legged meal. Bonnie for her part had been happy to see Damon's latest texts. Earlier that afternoon, she had tried to share with Elena and Caroline how the comet was suppose to be a harbinger of bad tidings. Elena had giggled and Caroline had made a comment about Grams' drinking habits. It was good to have one person she could talk to that took her and Grams seriously.

**Caroline wants to know when I'm going to bring you around - B**

**Soon I'm sure. I met Elena today.-D**

**And?-B**

**If she didn't look so much like Katherine, I'd probably like her. -D**

**Oh?-B**

**Stefan'd have a hard time handling her.-D**

**:-) -B**

**Good night little witch. Don't stay out too late - D**

**Nite - B**

The next afternoon, Bonnie was only half listening to Elena go on about Stefan brushing her off the day before. She understood that her friend was afraid of taking chances right now and she really wanted to be supportive but she had stayed out too late the night before to help Caroline. Lack of sleep made her dopey in school which would not have been a big deal in any of the classes except Tanner's. The man was such douche. Bonnie wondered if Damon was could compel a little attitude adjustment in the teacher. Speaking of the vampire, her mind kept wandering back to Damon's experiment. What was he playing at?

The experiment in question had reached its climax shortly after the comet appeared in the sky above Mystic Falls. Stoner girl had recognized Damon in the bar. So here he stood atop a roof, dangling the girl from the edge until Stefan leaped up to rescue her. It took hardly any effort to show Stef that his compulsion over the girl shattered with just a little nudging. There was panic in Stef's eyes, despite the bravado in his voice, when Damon challenged him to counter a new compulsion.

Stefan didn't even attempt to readjust the girl's new memory. Having proved his point, Damon gave in and planted a strong suggestion about an animal attack and wandering off tonight while under the influence of pain killers. He left Saint Stefan to get the girl back to her family and friends as he headed toward the one place where he considered himself among friends.

Bonnie sat at a table watching the commotion. Stefan had found the very wasted Vicki and brought her back to Matt at the Grill. Aside from a couple pulled stitches, she was no more worse for wear than usual. Bonnie was seriously thinking of heading home to bed . Caroline could get herself home for once and Elena had already headed home to mope.

Seeing Stefan looking pretty forlorn himself, Bonnie decided to be charitable. Damon would probably tell her it was a bad idea but she gave Elena's phone number and email to the poor guy. As her fingers brushed Stefan's, the witch was assaulted by horrifying images. She hadn't expected anything so visceral and she exclaimed aloud. Stefan for his part dodged her comment and then ducked out of the Grill quickly.

Bonnie's phone buzzed.

**Sitting with Sheila on her porch watching the last of the comet. Join us?-D**

Bonnie didn't bother answering but bid Caroline goodbye and walked to Grams'.

Damon was sitting on the top step of the porch with his back resting against the railing. Grams was in a chair with her feet propped up on the railing above the vampire's head. Seeing Bonnie's weary form, Damon offered his hand, then tugged her down to sit between his knees. Bonnie let her head fall back against his chest.

The three sat in silence for a while as the comet passed out of site. "Well, that's done. Emily's pendant will have absorbed some of that energy. Sheila said at last. "Though it does bother me that Emily used the comet to fuel a spell. I'm not sure any good can come it."

Damon thought about this for a moment. "I suppose that trapping twenty-some vampires for over 150 years where they starve but never die would be considered no good."

Sheila agreed. "Where is the pendant anyway?"

"It's well hidden." Damon responded. "I'll be able to get at it soon."

Bonnie remained silent. She was warm and comfortable against Damon odd as it was since vampires didn't generate body heat.

Sheila stood up. "This old lady is turning in. You two stay as you like." And after stroking Damon's hair and dropping a kiss on Bonnie's head, the older woman slipped into the house and her waiting bed.

"Did your experiment tell you what you needed?" Bonnie finally asked, her eyes cracking open just a bit.

"Yeah, it did. Stefan is pretty harmless right now. If he gets his hands on human blood though, stay clear. He's been abstaining so long I don't know what he'd do." Feeling Bonnie tense, "What's up?"

"I accidently touched him tonight and got a vision."

"What did you see?"

"Blood. So much blood." Bonnie almost whimpered. Then picking up Damon's hand that was resting on his own leg next to her, Bonnie traced a finger across his palm. "I imagined that if I ever did see or feel what was in his head, I'd feel something similar to what I feel when I touch you. "

Rearranging them both, Damon peered into Bonnie's eyes. "What do you feel when you touch me?"

"Anger, loneliness" Bonnie rested her head on his shoulder

"Sounds about right. Stefan is obsessed with blood either getting it or avoiding it depending on the decade." Damon explained, "And me, I'm always angry..and lonely, " he conceded.

Bonnie squeezed the hand she still held. "Not so much loneliness tonight."

"No" Damon agreed. "Not so lonely tonight," rubbing his chin in her hair.

Bonnie must have dozed for the next thing she knew, Damon was standing and pulling her up with him.

"Come on, little witch, let's get you home." He guided her to his car and let her doze again as he drove to her home.

"I'll see you in the morning." He said as she entered the darkened house.

Across town, Caroline was fumbling and dropping her car keys.. Someone was in the parking lot with her but she couldn't see who. Finding the keys, she stood and gasped at the figure standing next to her.

"Well if it isn't Caroline Forbes." The figure stated.

The blondes smiled in relief and something else. "Hi Ben, long time no see."


	4. Chapter 4

The alarm went off at 6am and again at 6:15am, 6:20am and so on until 6:45am. Bonnie Bennett barely had time to shower and dress before heading to class. Breakfast was out of the question. Cold pop tarts were not appealing but they were better than nothing asshe dashed out of the house.

"Morning, Sunshine." a silky smooth voice drawled.

Bonnie smiled at the sight in front of her. As mouth watering as Damon was, the grande Starbucks cup he held out had her positively drooling.

"How did you know?" Bonnie asked taking the cup.

"It doesn't take psychic abilities to guess that you'd over sleep this morning. I know what time you got to bed" He thrust a white paper bag into her empty hand. "Here, you eat, I'll drive." Damon opened the passenger door for the girl.

"I won't have my car. How will I get home?" Bonnie settled herself inside and peeked into the bag licking her lips.

"So I'll pick you up after class. No biggie."

"Umm, I have cheerleading practice after class. Would it be a problem?"

Damon shrugged. "No problem at all. Besides that gives me an excuse to check out a bunch of hot girls wearing not much more than spandex." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Bonnie slapped his arm. "So how come you're all bright eyed? Since you took me home, you got even less sleep than me."

"Vampire, remember. Don't really need much sleep" The car pulled to the curb in front of the high school. "What time is practice over?"

"About 5pm." Bonnie climbed out of the car. "Thanks for breakfast. You're a life saver."

"All part of the job. Study hard, little witch." With that, Damon drove off.

Bonnie watched the camaro drive away and then turned toward the school building. She observed Elena and Stefan walking together. Elena needed to be warned to be careful around Stefan. Damon thought his brother was currently harmless but who knew when that would change. Bonnie couldn't shake her vision from last night.

The day passed uneventfully. Bonnie had tried to talk to Elena about her concerns regarding Stefan but Elena just attributed it to Bonnie not really knowing her new boyfriend yet.

During history, Tanner was on yet another ego trip trying to prove how stupid the students were. Bonnie sat in her usual seat in the back row pretending to take notes. In reality, she was doodling the same numbers over and over. When Tanner and Stefan got into a battle of historic dates, she raised her head with a sudden realization. Damon and Stefan were more alike than either would probably admit. Both were whip smart and both seemed to take pleasure in putting people in their place. It was really too bad that Katherine's actions had pushed them so far apart.

Elena ended up sitting out most of cheer practice. She had missed camp over the summer and didn't know the new routines yet. She was suppose to observe the routines but Bonnie was fairly certain that Elena observed Stefan on the football field instead.

When practice ended, Elena approached Bonnie to come have dinner with her and Stefan at Elena's house.

"I don't know Elena" Bonnie looked for an excuse not to go.

"Come on, please. I know you will hit it off with Stef once you get to know him." Elena implored.

"Don't look now ladies but hottie at twelve o'clock." Caroline interrupted. "I wonder which of these skanks hooked him."

Bonnie looked over her shoulder. Damon had put the top down on his car since morning and now smiled at all the girls walking past.

"That would me." Bonnie turned back to her friends and raised her hand in a guilty gesture.

"Oh my God." Caroline squealed. "That's the reason he's been staring at your ass since he pulled up."

Bonnie turned once again to look at Damon. He had obviously heard Caroline and let his sunglasses drop down his nose so that he could wink at Bonnie.

She held up a finger to let him know she needed another minute.

Elena took a good look at the guy in the car. "That's Stefan's brother. He's the one you've been texting with so much? " Her brow furrowed. "Is that why you don't like Stefan? Because you're dating Damon and they don't get along?"

"I'm not dating Damon." Bonnie argued. "But we are good friends and I know he and Stefanhad a falling out though I'm not sure either of them can be blamed for it."

"But you won't give Stefan a chance to prove what a great guy he is." Elena moaned.

Bonnie suddenly got an idea. "Tell you what, I'll come over tonight on one condition."

"What's that?" Elena smiled now that it looked like she was going to get her way.

"You let me bring Damon along." The tone of Bonnie's voice offered no room for negotiation. "You have to give Damon the same chance I'm giving Stefan."

"Agreed." Elena held out her hand and the two girls shook. Elena then looked at Caroline. "Did you want to come over too, Care?"

Caroline grinned. "Actually, I have plans already, she gushed as she gingerly touched the scarf tied at her neck. "I nabbed a hottie of mine own."

With that, Bonnie gathered her things and climbed into Damon's car.

"So we have dinner plans, I take it." Damon did not sound thrilled. "How domestic."

"We do." the witch confirmed. "And just try to tell me that you don't want to find out more about Elena."

"And you're not trying to get my brother and I to bury the hatchet."

"You'd only bury it in each other's backs."

Damon laughed. "Okay, I'll play nice tonight." They had reached Bonnie's house. "You go shower and I'll swing by the bakery to pick up dessert."

Bonnie kissed Damon's cheek before hopping out. "Thank you, Darling, " she teased.

"Yes, Dear."

An hour later the pair arrived at Elena's house. Bonnie became nervous as they approached the door.

"Elena and Jeremy legally own the house since their parents' deaths. One of them has to formally invite you in, don't they?"

"Relax B**o**n-Bon," the vampire soothed. "I'm an old hand at this." He then shoved the cake box into her hand and rung the bell.

eHe then shoved the

When Elena opened the door bell, Stefan was right behind her. "Hi guys." She chirped. "Why didn't you just come in?"

"That would be because of me." Damon quickly jumped in. "I've had a klutzy day and didn't want to carry the cake for fear of dropping it so Bonnie had her hands full and I've got this thing about entering others people's homes unannounced if we're not friends...yet." He gave a nervous smile.

"Hello Brother." Stefan said while still standing behind Elena. He was making it clear to Damon that he already had an invitation into Elena's home thus he had the advantage.

"Listen," Damon put on a kicked puppy face. "I don't want to make things uncomfortable. Maybe I should go and let the three of you enjoy the evening." He turned to his brother. "Would you make sure Bonnie gets home safely?"

Bonnie widened her eyes at the other girl silently asking her to do something.

"Oh this is ridiculous," Elena sighed in exasperation. "Bonnie and Damon, would you two just get in here so we can eat?"

Damon stepped over the threshold and Bonnie let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Con artist" she mouthed to Damon for fear that Stefan would over hear anything she whispered.

The four of them sat at the table and began to dish up the takeout food. "So, " Elena began. "You didn't tell me how you and Damon met, Bon."

"Through Grams" Bonnie toyed with the food on her plate.

"Sheila's always been my favorite professor and when I became her teaching assistant, she started treating me like part of her family." Damon added.

"What are you getting your degree in?"

"Anthropology."

"Oh"

The remainder of the meal was stilted. Stefan glared at Damon throughout and contributed little to the conversation.

Dessert was had in the family room. While Elena and Stefan shared the couch, Bonnie sat cross legged in the arm chair with Damon on the floor below her.

"So Stefan, what do you think of the football team?" Bonnie tried to draw the boy into a conversation.

"Tanner coaches about like he teaches," was the curt reply.

At that moment Damon reached up and snagged Bonnie's coffee mug out of her hand and took a drink.

"Hey, you have your own mug." She exclaimed while snatching back hers and hugged it to her chest.

"But yours tastes better."

"Would you like me to make you a cup like how I made mine?"

"Please." Damon batted his eyes at her.

"Well you did bring me coffee this morning so I guess I can return the favor." Bonnie uncurled from her chair and stood. "Want help cleaning up the kitchen, Elena?"

"Sure," Elena popped up quickly. The tension must have been getting to her too.

When the girls left the room, Stefan snarled. "What are you doing with Bonnie?"

"Isn't it obvious," Damon returned the glare. "We're friends. I look out for her and she for me. In this case she's a little misguided thinking that you and I can put the past behind us."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Suit yourself. Ask Bonnie if you don't believe me." Damon stood and headed for the kitchen, picking up a stray glass on his way.

Bonnie looked questioningly at her friend as he cocked his head and motioned for her to rejoin Stefan. "It kinda defeats the purpose of the evening if you're in here with Elena and I'm out there with my brother. Go talk to him, he won't bite."

Bonnie gave a snort as she went back to the family room. Damon held out the glass to Elena. "You missed one."

Stefan offered a gentle smile as Bonnie reseated herself. "So how long has Damon known your grandmother?"

"Forever, if you listen to her." Bonnie answered truthfully.

"And she's cool with the two of you date...er hanging out despite the age difference?"

Bonnie giggled, "I think Grams would have insisted on it if we didn't hit it off so quickly."

"You don't say."

Throughout the conversation, Bonnie noticed that Stefan's eyes kept scanning her neck. In defiance, she casually drug her hand through her hair and pulled it all to lay down her back instead of over her shoulders, giving a clear view of her unblemished neck.

Soon Damon returned to the family room and offered Bonnie a hand up from the chair. "It's getting late. We should head out." Turning to Elena and Stefan, "Thank you for a pleasant evening Elena. Stef, I'll see you back at the boarding house."

The girls exchanged hugs before Damon and Bonnie departed.

"So, what did you think of little brother now that you've spent some time with him?"

"He thinks you're manipulating me."

"And probably Sheila." Damon drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "He has a low opinion of me and the feeling's mutual."

Bonnie could only nod. "Well, it should mean something to him that I don't have any bite marks."

"Just because your neck is clear doesn't prove that I couldn't have bitten you." Damon cocked an eyebrow so that Bonnie was sure to understand where else he could bite.

Bonnie felt her temperature rise. "And your talk with Elena?"

"She's far too innocent and open hearted. Nothing like Katherine." Damon conceded, "She's probably going to quit cheerleading. Don't be too hard on her. It doesn't make her happy anymore."

Bonnie knew that a lot had changed for Elena since the accident but cheering had been something she, Elena and Caroline had done together since junior high. It saddened her that this too was changing. "So now what?"

"Let Stefan think what he wants. Let him play at being human with Elena, so long as he doesn't get in the way." 


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: Sorry about the reload. Something went wonky went it uploaded.

The day had hardly begun and Damon was already exhausted. Well he guessed that he should be exhausted. For him, yesterday never technically ended. He'd started that day annoying "Uncle" Zach. Jerking his nephew's chain brought Damon no end of amusement. Zach acted like he was the devil incarnate. Okay, he was a self admitted dick, whatever. But Zach needed to realize that Stefan's martyr act only went so deep and if little brother fell off the wagon, Damon was the only creature around at the moment that had a chance to keeping him in check.

Stefan's football game was suppose to be that evening. Damon had teased the younger man about try outs but he already knew that the coach had to be creaming himself when he got a look at Stefan on the field. The brothers had played together when the game was still new. Add a vampire's strength and agility, and you had any coaches wet dream.

Damon went to the game not so much to watch Stef but to see Bonnie in her cheerleading uniform. Cause let's face it, the little witch was gorgeous. She's probably fueled a few wet dreams herself.

After the pep rally, Damon had spied Elena in street clothes. Looks like she had quit the squad. Still wondering how much like Katherine this doppelganger was, Damon first tried to charm her and then compel. Remember, dick. He figured he could always compel her to forget the kiss regardless of how he achieved it. Instead she hauled off and smacked him. She packed quite a wallop for someone to small.

After congratulating Stefan on vervaining Elena, they argued. Stef accused Damon of no longer have any humanity in him and Damon didn't see any reason to correct him. They stormed off in opposite directions. Damon cooled down while watching Bonnie doing stretches until he heard a frantic call for help.

Whether Coach Tanner had stepped out for a smoke or a hit off the flask tucked in his jacket, the world will never know. Something had come out of the shadows and drained him where he stood. Damon snarled. Whoever the vampire was picking off campers was, he or she had obviously moved on to townies. It wasn't certain whether Mystic Falls council still consisted of would be vampire hunters or not, but this was far too conspicuous to ignore.

After following Bonnie home to make sure she'd be safe, Damon headed for the woods. It took him most of the night but he located a very healthy sized mountain lion. It really sucked having to sacrifice the other predator but it was necessary. Using a little vampire mojo, he directed the now cranky feline toward an unsuspecting hunter. The hunter survived to tell the tale, the cat did not.

Mission accomplished, Damon headed home. He found his brother still asleep and could not resist the urge to fuck with him.

"Real good, Damon. And you expect me to trust you?" Stefan huffed upon waking.

"Just trying to live up to your expectations there, Steffie." Damon grinned. "Do you realize how incredibly easy it was to get in your head? We're the same age. I shoulda had to work for it."

"And what am I suppose to do?" The boy was now whining.

"A little human blood would do the trick."

"And become like you, I think not."

Damon groaned. "No, you drinking the good stuff without any control is ten times worse than anything I could make you dream. It's called self discipline, learn it and you won't have a problem."

Stefan just stared at his brother as if he had two heads.

"oh, that's right." the elder brother continued. "Daddy's golden boy was never one for self control." He went to walk out of the room. "Oh, they got the murderer. A big-ass mountain lion."

"Not like you to cover your tracks?"

"Who says it's my tracks, I'm covering? I have business here at home that will take a while and I'd prefer it if the yokels remained ignorant." Damon existed the room before Stefan could respond.

A soak in the tub with bourbon in hand and a cat nap left Damon feeling like a new man. He whistled as he drove over to see his witches. Maybe it was conceited to think of Sheila and Bonnie as his, but in so many ways they were. His to protect. And there were so many things they could not talk about with other people. Even when Sheila married Bonnie's grandfather, she could not share much of the supernatural world with the man. Damon and Sheila spent many a late night on the phone with Damon doing not much more than listening and offering support. He would make sure that Bonnie need never feel alone either.

Knocking on the door even as he entered, Damon grinned at the women he called his.

"Well you got that done quickly," Sheila complimented him, motioning to the news report on TV.

"Lets hope it was worth it," the vampire groused. "It pisses me off that someone else is targeting this town and I can't find him."

"It is odd that this vampire would risk being seen, given how populated the stadium was last night."

"Maybe our suspect had it in for Tanner," Bonnie offer. Her companions looked her. "What? Tanner wasn't anyone's favorite teacher or coach."

"You might be right, Bon-Bon."

"So how do we find him?" Sheila asked.

"We can hope that he gets tired of this search and destroy method and finds himself a blood bag we can trace back to him." The witches shot Damon a disgusted look. "Sorry. A person he is using for blood and possibly sex. Find that person and get them to tell us."

Seeing that the ladies still were not pleased with his comment about blood bags, Damon quickly changed the subject. "So rumor has it that the Founder's Day kickoff party is coming up. You ladies have dates?"

Sheila laughed. "Sorry Sweetie. I'm head to a conference."

Bonnie shrugged. "I was planning on going with Caroline since Elena is asking Stefan.

"Please take me." Damon batted his eyes at her.

"Oh I suppose I could be persuaded." Bonnie tried hard to sound put out when in truth she was tickled to death.

"I'll take you for ice cream afterward?"

"Deal!"

The day of the Founders Party began with Bonnie and Elena giving each other manicures.

"Bonnie?" Elena began. "Has Damon told you much about Katherine?

"Not a lot but some." Bonnie was worried. This would be awkward.

"Stefan won't talk about her. Every time I try to ask, he clams up."

"From what Damon told me, Katherine was seeing each of them without either of them being the wiser." Bonnie hesitated. "Damon thought he was in love with her and she returned that love. When she died, he found out that she'd also been professing her love to Stefan. "

"I wish Stef would talk to me about her." Bonnie felt bad for fibbing to Elena but she felt worse for what the bitch had done to Damon and his brother.

"Give him time. They're both still healing" Bonnie wondered how many decades it would take for the brothers to forgive each other for Katherine's trespasses.

Two hours later the girls were dressed and ready to go. The doorbell rang just as Elena's phone did. Bonnie answered the door to find Damon leaning against the door jam. Dressed in a designer suit, he held a single long stemmed yellow rose tipped with red.

"You look amazing." He breathed as he handed her the gift.

Bonnie blushed. "Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself."

Elena came to the door. "That was Stef on the phone. He had to make a side stop and said that you two should head on over to the party. We'll meet you there."

Are you sure you don't want us to wait for you?" Bonnie asked not wanting her friend to feel abandoned.

"No, its fine." Elena shook her head. "You might be able to get in an extra dance or two before we get there."

Damon was confused. Stefan looked ready to go when he left. He thought his brother would be hot on his heels. "If you're sure, but if my little brother chickens out tonight, call us and I'll come back for you."

Elena smiled."He'll be here soon. Now scoot.

Damon offered his arm to his date. "Shall we then?"

The reception line at the mayor's mansion was long. Carol Lockwood was greeting people when Bonnie and Damon reached the entrance. Once admitted, Damn procured a drink for himself and a sweet tea for Bonnie.

"Forget ice cream, we're going for dinner after this." He promised after seeing minimal appetizers offered on the buffet. Apparently presentation was more important than substance.

The candles in the dining room were not lit and the pair witnessed Mrs. Lockwood berating a poor waiter because of it.

"Watch this." Bonnie took a breath and concentrated on a candle after the mayor's wife and the waiter left. A single candle flickered to life and then the rest followed suit.

Damon grinned with pride."Playing with fire, little girl?" He saw that all candles were now lit. " Very impressive. "

"Thanks."

"Shall we hit the dance floor?"

When Elena and Stefan arrived, they found Bonnie and Damon slow dancing. Elena had to admit that she was a little envious of her friend. While Bonnie insisted that she and the elder Salvatore were just friends, there was obviously something between them. Damon talked to Bonnie, really talked to her about himself. He was considerate and sweet . And while Stefan had helped her in and out of the car he borrowed from Zach, he had arrived empty handed and had not said a word about how she looked. In fact, Stefan was quiet and distant with her during the drive over.

When the song ended, Damon noticed his brother and Elena. Not releasing the hand he held while dancing, he lead Bonnie to the other couple. "Brother, I'm glad you made it. You had me ...concerned."

"Wouldn't miss it." Stefan sounded stiff.

The four headed toward the display area to check out the antiques donated for the occasion by the various founding families.

Elena somehow managed to zero in on the guest list from the first founding family celebration. She looked at the brothers in askance when she found both of their names on the list. Bonnie shot Damon a worried look.

"The original Salvatore brothers." Damon interjected. "Stef and I were named for them." He then proceeded to tell Elena about how these Salvatore brothers were shot in cold blood while trying to rescue the woman they both loved. Stefan hustled Elena away from his brother as soon as he could.

Seeing that the room was empty aside from themselves, Damon asked Bonnie to keep watch as he took a small wooden chest from a display. Lifting the lid he fiddled with the catch on a secret compartment. Retrieving Emily's crystal from inside, he place the chest back in its display.

"Bonnie?" Damon crooked a finger at the girl once he had her attention. He pulled a gold chain from his pocket and slid the crystal onto it.

"Hmmm?"

"I believe this is yours now." Damon reached his hands around Bonnie's neck and clasped the chain. He then adjusted the rest of her jewelry to camouflage the crystal. "Keep it safe."

Bonnie touch where the crystal lay against her skin. "It hums."

"Does it?"

"Yup."

"Interesting. One more dance before we go get dinner?" Damon took her hand again and headed for the dance floor.

While dancing, Bonnie noticed Caroline Forbes for the first time all evening. It looked like she and Elena were headed to the powder room. Something suddenly struck the witch.

"Damon?"

"Yes?"

"It may be nothing." Bonnie began

"But?"

"Caroline can't seem to go anywhere anymore without a scarf around her neck."

Damon's head snapped to catch Caroline's retreating form. "I'll be back." He then headed in the blonde's direction.

He waited outside the restroom until the agitated Caroline exited. "Caroline, could I have a word with you?" Damon caught up with her and touched her arm.

"I can't," the girl responded. "Its not a good time to talk."

Moving Caroline's scarf just enough to see the bite mark it concealed, Damon snapped, "Actually I think it's the perfect time to talk," as his hand wrapped around her upper arm.

At that moment, Elena was telling Stefan about the bite marks she saw on her friend. Stefan glanced over his girlfriend's shoulder to see Damon manhandling Caroline off the terrace.

Damon ushered Caroline to a remote section of the lawn away from the crowd. "Caroline, you need to tell me whose been feeding off you."

Caroline was in tears. "I'm...I'm not suppose to tell. Especially not you or Stefan."

Turning on the compulsion, he grabbed both the girl's shoulders. "Tell me who hurt you."

"I can't." She cried. "They told me not to tell."

This was the last thing Damon heard as his world went dark.

Stefan pulled the syringe from his brother's neck as he dropped to the ground. Caroline was in hysterics by this point. Stefan took her face gently in his hands. "You're safe now. This never happened and you haven't seen me or Damon all night."

"I'm safe now and I haven't seen you or Damon all night." Caroline repeated.

Stefan picked up his brother and threw him over his shoulder and headed to the parking area. Locating the camaro, he fished out Damon's keys and tossed Damon into the trunk. After moving the car out of sight, he returned to the party and located Elena.

Bonnie and Elena had found Caroline sitting in the grass crying. The two got their friend into the mansion and were sitting in an alcove with her when Stefan found them. He cleared his throat to get their attention. "Bonnie, Damon had to leave, something urgent I guess. He asked me to take you home."

Bonnie nodded and continued to rub Caroline's back. Elena gave a small smile. "Bonnie and Care are going to spend the night at my house."

"I'll go bring the car around."

After dropping off the girl's at the Gilbert residence, Stefan took Zach's car back to the boarding house and then ran to the Lockwood mansion to get the camaro before it was discovered. He couldn't believe his luck. After Damon had discovered the vervain laced bourbon, Stefan thought he'd missed his only chance to stop his brother. Then Zach had given him a vial of a vervain extract. A quick stop by the hospital to swipe a syringe before picking up Elena and Stefan was ready. He thought it might be days before the opportunity presented itself but instead he saw his opening tonight.

As Stefan dumped Damon into a cell in the Salvatore boarding house's basement, Elena and Bonnie huddled with Caroline on Elena's bed while Caroline cried. Bonnie soothed her friend and kept an eye on her cell phone. She was waiting for a text or call from Damon telling her that he had gotten the other vampire and that it was over.

The call never came.


	6. Chapter 6

The first thing Bonnie did when she woke was reach for her cell phone. Although the volume was turned up as high as it would go, Bonnie always hoped in vain that somehow she slept through the ring tone or text alert signal. It had been a week since Damon had left her at the Founder's Day Party, a week since she had contact with the dark haired vampire.

He had not contacted Grams either . It was not right. Damon would not just disappear without so much as a word. Especially not now. Bonnie fingered the crystal hanging around her neck. No, something was definitely wrong and today she was determined to find out what.

Today the school football team and cheer squad were holding a car wash with the proceeds going to Coach Tanner's family to help them during their time of grief. Talking with Stefan was as good a place to start as any. He was, after all the last one of their circle to have spoken with Damon.

The first time Damon woke, he didn't know where he was. He was cold, hungry and in pain. It was dark and the ground he sat on was hard and the air was slightly musty. Then there was sound. The boarding house's old behemoth of a furnace sputtered to life. From the proximity of the sound, he was in the cellar of the Salvatore property. How did he get here? He had been at the Founders' party. What had happened.

The second time he woke, he remembered talking to Caroline before his lights went out. She had been telling him something about the bite marks on her body. He needed to remember exactly what she said. Something she said was important. The hunger and pain were making it hard to focus.

Bright light overhead and Stefan's voice woke Damon the third time. The pain was lessening but the hunger grew stronger. How long had it been since he fed? He turned his head and saw his brother's face peering at him through a small barred window in the wood and iron door.

"Well big brother, I'll admit you had me fooled. Keeping Bonnie on a short lease looking so pristine and untouched while all the while you were feeding off Caroline. But you didn't really think I'd let you get away with it, did you?"

"What?" Damon tried hard to understand what Stefan was saying. Stefan though that he was the one feeding from Caroline Forbes. That meant that the other vampire , the one killing people, was still out there and Bonnie was left unprotected. The thought forced Damon to try to get to his feet. "Protect Bonnie." Damon muttered. His tongue felt like cotton in his dry mouth.

"Neither Bonnie nor Caroline will need protecting now that you're locked up." Stefan looked over Damon's weakened body. " In a few days, I'll move you over to the family crypt. We can revisit your behavioral problems in ..oh say fifty years."

"They," Damon remembered what Caroline told him. "They wouldn't let her tell."

"I think the hunger is making you loopy, brother. I'll just let you rest now." Stefan walked away from the door but left on the light.

Zach was Damon's next visitor. Was this pathetic excuse of a man actually a Salvatore? Giuseppe would have been so disappointed to learn that his last living descendant never grew a pair. Really, was Zach's life so hard? The house and its upkeep were covered by the estate's trust. Zach wasn't even required to keep boarders. All he had to do was look after the place and turn a blind eye when either Damon or Stefan paid a visit every couple decades. Damon managed to make his mouth work long enough to let Zach know that someone needed to cut the lawn.

Bonnie watched at a distance as an old man tried to tell Stefan that he recognized Stefan from sixty year ago. The man's much younger embarrassed companion explained to Stef and Elena that her grandfather was senile and was confusing himself. Everyone nodded in sympathy. Elena excused herself a short while later saying she had something that needed done. Bonnie already knew this would be trouble. At school, Elena used to be the first one to ferret out the biggest secrets and best gossip. She'd have her Christmas gifts figured out weeks before opening them. Stefan's secret was about to come out and Bonnie just hoped that her friend would understand why she never said anything.

Still that was something to be concerned about later. Bonnie sat down next to the younger Salvatore. "How we doing with the collection?" she asked innocently.

"Not bad." Stefan replied. The old gentleman really threw him off.

"I haven't heard from Damon since the Founder's Party." Bonnie stated. "Has he contacted you."

Stefan looked at Bonnie for a moment biting his lip before he sighed. "Yeah, he called me."

Bonnie started to perk up but Stefan continued. "I honestly thought he'd call you, Bonnie. I really did otherwise I would have told you right away." He took a breath as a concerned look came over his face. "Damon's not coming back. He got bored and decided to head to New York."

"What!?"

"I'm really sorry, Bonnie. I know you liked him and all but while my brother is charming, he's not cut out for small town life." After patting her arm in concern, Stefan stood and headed toward some of the cars waiting to be washed.

Bonnie jumped out of her seat and followed him. Grabbing his elbow, she used their combined momentum to get them quickly past the cars to an alleyway. "Didn't anyone ever tell you to make sure you get all the facts before you start spinning lies?"

"Bonnie? What are you talking about?"

"Don't Bonnie me," the girl hissed.

"I'm not lying. Damon left town to go to New York and he's not coming back." Stefan was looking directly into Bonnie's eyes. The witch could feel something akin to pressure for a moment. He was trying to compel her.

"Don't start with that shit either Stefan Salvatore."

"I don't..."

"I know what you and Damon are."

Stefan's jaw dropped a bit.

"I know what you are and what you're capable of," she continued. "And if you took the time to think about it, you'd know what I am too." Bonnie pushed her energy forward causing Stefan to stumble.

Realization finally hit Stefan with the mental shove. "How?"

"Katherine's servant Emily. Did you know her family name was Bennett?" Seeing no sign of remembrance in the vampire's eyes, she pushed forward both verbally and mentally. "Of course not. How many southern land owners bothered to learn the family names of the help? But your brother did." Bonnie started the beginning of a tiny aneurysm in Stefan's brain.

Placing the heal of his hand over his left eye, Stefan begged. "Bonnie, please."

"Damon knew Emily Bennett well enough that he went to her for help protecting Katherine when the Founders came for her. In return, he vowed to protect her family." Bonnie leaned over the now cringing vampire, "And he's done so for generations. He wouldn't just leave us."

"He was manipulating you and feeding from your friend." Stefan tried to make the girl see reason.

"Manipulating us, how? He was protecting us and trying to find the vampire that was using Caroline as a person blood bag." Her voice was rising and there was a smell of smoke in the air. "Now where is he?" Bonnie grabbed Stefan's bare wrist and was immediately beset by the image of Damon locked in the cellar. "Oh my god."

Bonnie released Stefan and ran for her car. At the same moment, flames rose from the soles of Stefan's sneakers. He was still trying to extinguish the flames when he heard the squeal of tires.

Once she hit the street, Bonnie did not let off the gas pedal. Speeding tickets be damned as she prayed Damon was okay.

The front door was unlocked so she assumed the house's other occupant was home. "Zach?" she called out. "Its Bonnie, Bonnie Bennett. I'm a school mate of Stefan's. Are you here?" When no reply came, Bonnie stole farther into the house. Using her instincts, she found the door leading to the lower level.

From the stairs, Bonnie could see artificial light coming from a tiny window cut in a door. Hastening to that door she stood on tip toe to look inside. Damon was sitting on the floor with his head resting on his bent knees. Relief washed through her. "Damon."

He didn't respond until the third time his name was called. Finally he lifted his head. "Bonnie?"

"Damon, get up, I've got to get you out of here." the witch demanded. She looked around her till she spotted a set of keys sitting on a shelf. Grabbing them, Bonnie tried each in the cell's lock until one slid home.

Damon's face appeared on the other side of the little window. He looked so pale. "Don't" was all he said.

"What to do mean don't?" Bonnie wrestled with the stiff lock.

"Haven't eaten. Could hurt you."

"Don't be stupid, then. I need to get you out of here before Stefan finds us." Just as the tumblers on the lock released, a pair of hands grabbed the would be rescuer from behind. Bonnie screamed as she attempted to dislodge her attacker.

Zach Salvatore was in a panic. This idiot girl was about to set free a starving vampire. He pulled her away from the door and turned to push her face first against the opposite wall but not before the girl thrashed her head back, breaking Zach's nose in the process.

Blood gushed from Zach's nose as Bonnie yelled again upon hitting the stone wall. Both humans froze as a snarl filled the air behind them. Zach was yanked off of Bonnie and she heard the sickening sound of a neck snapping. Turning, she watched Zach's lifeless body fall to the floor. Damon stood there fully vamped out .

"Run" was all he said, fists tight.

Even having only seen his vampiric countenance once before, Bonnie understood that Damon was not completely in control. She dashed for the stairs racing up them and yelling for a third time as Damon's finger tips brushed her bare ankle as he tried to catch her.

Damon was hot on her heels as she cleared the hallway into the main room. She mused briefly if she was strong enough to immobilize the crazed predator. Damon howled behind her and she turned to look at him. Sunlight was filling the windows of the main room while the hallway was still cast in shadows. One of Damon's hands and part of his face was blistered. At that moment, both of them realized what had happened. Stefan had taken his brother's daylight ring.

Bonnie glanced at her watch. The sun would be setting soon. Looking at Damon, he seemed more animal than man at the moment. "I'm sorry," was all she could whisper as she ran out of the house leaving the front door open.

Waiting on her front porch when Bonnie pulled her car to the curb, Sheila had sensed her grand-daughter's agitation all afternoon. Opening her arms to the girl she asked, "Damon?"

Bonnie just shook her head and cried harder as her grandmother led her into the house.

It took awhile to calm Bonnie down enough to get the story out of her. The two of them paced for what seemed hours before Bonnie's phone rang. The number displayed on the screen was unfamiliar but something told Bonnie to answer.

"Hello?"

"Did I hurt you?" A flat voice asked.

"Damon?"

"Did I hurt you?" The voice asked again.

"No Damon, you didn't hurt me."

There was a deep sigh on the other end of the line. "But I frightened you."

"Damon, tell me where you are. I'll come get you." The girl pleaded.

Damon looked down at the ground surrounding him and was glad his little witch could not witness this. There were a dozen dead bodies scattering the ground. A dozen drained teenagers.

"Not a good idea." Damon kicked at one of the bodies, the one he had confiscated the phone from. "I'm not fit for civilized company yet."

"Please."

"Are you with Sheila?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Good. Stay together tonight." Damon continued to walk through the carnage. "There's more than one."

"More than one what?"

"Caroline said they wouldn't let her talk."

"Oh"

"Stay inside tonight. I'll see you soon." Damon promised as he hung up on his friend.

Damon dialed the number for his second call. "Hello Brother. We need to talk."


	7. Chapter 7

The sky was turning a light shade of grey but the sun had not yet breached the horizon, when the front door to the boarding house opened. Stefan did not look up until his older brother entered the room . Despite being covered in dirt and smears of blood, the color had returned to Damon's face and his movements were once again fluid. He poured himself a drink and looked toward where Stefan sat noticed that he too held a tumble of whiskey.

"Tsk, tsk," He said as he slowly waggled a finger. "Should you really be drinking before school?"

"I wasn't sure you'd be back today." Stefan raised his chin.

" You insured I'd be back by curfew." Damon belted down his drink then held up the hand that normally wore his daylight ring. As much as he detested Katherine's gaudy sense of fashion, he needed the ring. "Speaking of which, where is it?"

"It's not here."

"WHAT!"

"I hid it in a safe place in case you got out."

"Well duh. And now I'm out so why didn't you fetch it?." Damon ground out.

The sun was up now so Damon was housebound until the ring was returned. Stefan flinched at his brother's tone. "I'll get it shortly. I got rather...busy last night."

"With what?"

"Zach."

"Oh." That took a little of the wind out of Damon's sails but he just shrugged and poured himself another drink. "If you're looking for an apology, don't hold your breath. He was manhandling my witch." It was only out of self preservation that he had not sunk his fangs into Zach as some part of his brain remembered that amidst the whining, Zach advised him that the human had been dosing himself with vervain for years.

Stefan thought for a moment about how his brother described Bonnie but let it go. "I put him in the family crypt."

"The same spot you two had planned for me? How ironic." Damon sneered.

"We were his only family. I don't think he had many close friends or a girlfriend." Stefan continued. "He won't be missed if we tell people that he decided to take advantage of both of us being in town to go on an extended vacation."

"That works."

"Damon, what you told me on the phone last night about other vampires in town, are you sure you heard Caroline correctly?"

"Before we were so rudely interrupted, Caroline Forbes clearly said "they". " Damon took a sip of his drink. "And whoever they are, they are older than us since I couldn't crack the compulsion she is under."

"So we just wait to see what they do next?"

"Not exactly little brother. I think it's time that the founders council started getting involved." Damon grinned.

Stefan looked at his brother incredulously. "You didn't cover your tracks last night, did you?"

"Nope" Popping the 'p', "At least I only made sure that no one but another vampire could track last night to House Salvatore. Let the council start protecting the town ." He laughed. "Those bumbling idiots will at least buy us some time to find our competition."

"What do we do in the mean time?"

"In the mean time, I'm going to take a very long shower." Damon sniffed at his shirt, "burn my clothes and take a nap in a real bed. You on the other hand are going to get my ring back and then go to school like normal."

Stefan groaned.

"What's wrong?"

"Elena."

"What about Elena?"

"She knows."

"Knows what, Stef?"

"She knows we're vampires . I guess she went digging and found some stuff that confirm that I confirms my existence for a lot longer than it should."

"And is she now afraid of you?"

"A little but I think she's upset that I've been lying to her."

"Then I guess you better go make nice with her."

"Yeah and probably Bonnie too." Stefan rubbed his temple absently.

"That's how she found me. She whammied you, didn't she?"

"That's one way to put it. She packs quite a punch."

"Never mess with a witch."

Bonnie arrived home from school to find a vampire sitting on her front step soaking up the sun. "Damon," she smiled but she could see that her friend was not happy. His mouth was a straight line and he wasn't looking her in the eye. "Damon?"

"Hi." He tilted his head slightly and tried to smile even though it didn't reach his eyes. "I just stopped by to make sure you were okay, to thank you and to apologize."

"Come inside and I'll make us some coffee."

"Bonnie, you know better than to invite me in, especially after yesterday."

"Well it's a little too late, isn't it." She crossed her arms. "So you should just follow me in and drink the coffee I make you." She unlocked her front door and made sure he did as she said.

Damon sat in silence as he watched the witch move around the kitchen making a fresh pot of coffee.

"I wanted to thank you for springing me yesterday. "

"And you think you need to apologize because you thought about eating me." She responded after she fixed a mug and placed it on the table in front of him.

"Shouldn't I?"

"Damon, you were starving." Bonnie began to pace. "You told me not to let you out. And then you told me to run, giving me a chance to get ahead of you."

"I told you to run?"

"You don't remember that?"

"I remember you trying to unlock the door and knowing that was a bad idea for you to be there. And then seeing you struggle with Zach. There was blood."

"I think I broke his nose." The girl sounded guilty.

"I broke a lot worse than his nose but I don't remember much after that until I had..." Damon looked down at the untouched coffee. "Until I had fed."

"So you mean to tell me that you were half out of your mind yet you still tried to protect me...from yourself?" She asked pointedly, "What do you need to apologize for?"

"I thought seeing me like that would traumatize you for life." He seemed almost shy.

"The situation frightened me." Bonnie claimed and then she used her fingers to lift his chin to force eye contact. "But I know who you really are, and you don't scare me."

Damon let out a deep breath "Thank you. "

"Any time. What are friends for but to bail each other out?"

"Some body guard I am, being rescued by my own charge."

"Most body guards wouldn't need to worry about their paranoid brother. Besides you were more concerned about who was feeding on Caroline."

"And I still have to figure that one out."

"No ideas?"

"None, I was going to visit Sheila next and bounce some ideas off of her about breaking a compulsion. Want to come with?"

"Sorry I can't. It's an arts and crafts night with Elena."

"Arts and crafts?"

Bonnie picked up her school bag. "Stefan brought me a peace offering this morning." She pulled out a gallon sized zip lock stuffed full on a dried herb.

"Ah Zach's little gardening hobby."

"Elena and I are going to put together some stuff to give to Caroline to wear and maybe a few other people."

"Then I should take off." Damon stood.

Bonnie followed him out of the house and watched as he was about to climb into the camaro. "Damon?"

"Yes."

"You still owe me dinner."

For the first time all afternoon, the vampire cracked a genuine smile.

"I guess I do, don't I?"

"Yes you do." Bonnie batted her eyelashes. "The school's annual Halloween carnival is Friday. Pick me up early so we can get dinner and then go laugh at the fun house monsters."

"As you wish."

Sheila greeted Damon with a hug and then slapped the back of his head when he arrived.

"What was that for?" he said while rubbing the injured anatomy.

"For making me worry about you." She tapped her foot. "Don't you ever do that to me again."

The vampire just shook his head. "You do realize that I am older than you?"

"Then act like it."

"Huh?"

"If you would quit trying to prove to your brother that you really don't care and have lost your humanity, maybe he wouldn't be trying to put a stop to you."

"Sheila, we've been rehashing this for the past forty years."

"Then its time you do something about it. How is it that generations of witches know you better than Stefan does?'

Damon was about to respond when his phone rang. Caller ID showed that it was the devil they were speaking of.

"Yes, Stefan?"

"Where are you?" The voice on the other end was higher than usual.

"What's wrong, brother?" Concern taking over Damon.

"Could you come back to the house? I think we have a problem."

"I'm across town. Give me about 20 minutes." Damon hung up after saying good-bye.

"I gotta go. Something has Stefan's boxers in a twist."

"Good, it will give you two a chance to talk."

"Good night, Sheila."

Twenty minutes later Damon walked into his home. "Stef?"

"In here," Stefan stopped his brother before he entered the lounge. "I'm assuming she's not one of yours."

"One of my what?" Damon demanded.

"Look for yourself," as Stefan gestured into the room.

Sitting on one of the leather couches was Vicki Donovan, obviously in transition.


	8. Chapter 8

"In here," Stefan stopped his brother before he entered the lounge. "I'm assuming she's not one of yours."

"One of my what?" Damon demanded.

"Look for yourself," as Stefan gestured into the room.

Sitting on one of the leather couches was Vicki Donovan, obviously in transition.

"What the hell?" Damon looked at the new vampire and then at his brother. "Where did she come from?"

Stefan ran a hand through his hair. "Someone left her hog tied at our front door. She was starting to smolder when I found her."

"Can someone please just take me home." Vicki complained. "I don't feel good and I want to sleep this off."

The elder Salvatore looked her over. "Sorry, princess. It doesn't look like you're going to be going anywhere just yet." The teenager huffed at him. "Do you remember what happened to you?"

"I was taking Jeremy to a party out in the woods." She began.

"Shit." Damon threw his hands up in the air. He didn't remember seeing this girl or Jeremy Gilbert in the woods during his frenzy and he certainly didn't remember giving anyone some of his blood but he couldn't be absolutely sure that he didn't.

Stefan watched his brother's agitation for a moment before laying a hand on the older man's shoulder. "I saw Jeremy at school this morning. He was fine." He tried to reassure his brother that at least he didn't eat Elena's sibling. "In fact Elena mentioned that Jer was in a foul mood because of a fight he had gotten into with Vicki."

Vicki affirmed this. "He left almost as soon as he got there. He was pissed with me."

"Then what happened?"

"Well, there was this girl there. I hadn't seen her with the gang before. She said I looked like I could use something a little stronger than what was being passed around."

The brothers both perked up at this. "Then what?"

"We headed away from the party because she said she couldn't share with everyone. She did something really freaky next and cut open her wrist and told me to drink the blood." Vicki stood and started bouncing around the room. "I guess I passed out after drinking her blood cause when I woke up she had someone with her."

"Who was it?"

"That reporter from TV. The one that looks like a Ken Doll."

"Logan Fell." Damon surmised. "Did he say anything?"

"No, he looked really scared." Vicki continued. "Annie had cut his neck and told me to drink from him next."

"First meal." Stefan shook his head. He had briefly met Fell and the Founders party. Elena's aunt didn't seem to care for him and Stef could understand why. Vicki was right in calling him a Ken doll but still he wouldn't wish this on him. "Annie? Was that the girl's name."

"Yeah, Annie or Amy or something. Can I go home now."

Damon frowned. "It would be best if you stayed here a day or two. How about I show you where one of the guest rooms is and you can take a hot shower and rest up before we take to back to your brother."

"Okay." Vicki smiled. "Hey you bit me, didn't you."

"Afraid so."

"I'm hungry."

"We'll see about getting you a snack while you clean up."

Vicki was squared away in one of the guest suites when Damon rejoined his brother in the lounge. Stefan had already poured them both a drink.

"Thank you." Damon picked up his drink sipping it gingerly. "I have some bagged blood stashed in the freezer down stairs. We can spike it with vervain and that should keep her down till we figure out what to do with her."

"What do we want to do with her?"

"Door Number One... we stake her and sink her body in the quarry."

The younger vampire's eyes went wide.

"Door Number Two... we neglect to tell her about her new solar allergy and let mother nature take its course."

Stefan's jaw fell open.

"Or Door Number Three... we teach her how to be a vampire."

"I'll teach her." Stefan volunteered. He liked Matt Donovan and it would hurt the quarterback to lose his sister.

"Going to make her a bunny muncher?" Damon laughed. At his brother's frown, he quickly switched gears. "Bonnie says you gave her a gift today. Thank you for that."

"Thought sharing Zach's stash might help her understand that I just want to get along."

"I think it was much appreciated. She and your Elena are going to be sharing the wealth with a few friends and family."

"I don't think she is my Elena." Stefan frowned again.

"Give her time brother. " Damon refilled his brother's glass. "The only thing that kept you well grounded when you learned that Katherine was a vampire was that she compelled you."

"She never compelled you?" Stefan was curious.

"No, it fascinated me." Damon sat on the couch next to his brother.

"You really loved her?"

"I thought I did." The dark haired vampire sighed. "Maybe I was just in love with the idea of her." he concluded.

Stefan laughed softly. "My evil brother has a romantic side."

"Tell anyone and I'll stake you and sink your body in the quarry."

Still grinning the younger brother raised his hands in surrender. "You're secret is safe." He then got serious. "Honestly, if I had known that she was playing with both of us, I would have stepped aside. I did know you were interested but I didn't realize that she was encouraging your interest along with mine."

"You were compelled little brother. She wouldn't have let you go." Damon wasn't so sure his brother was being completely honest about his feeling toward their maker. "But maybe if we had known, we would have let Father and the rest of the council torch her without a fight."

"Maybe." Stefan's voice sounded far away. "But she's gone now."

"Yeah, she is." Now wasn't the time to explain that Katherine was going to be coming back.

"How come you never told me about protecting Emily's children?"

"It's not like we talked much after we transitioned. Besides, it was my bargain to keep."

"Are you going to tell me what you bargained for?"

"Soon, but not tonight." Damon stood and offered a hand to his brother to haul him to his feet. "Come on, we have a fledging to go drug and a vampire named Annie or Amy or something to find."

The night passed without incident. Logan Fell was apparently a no show at the news studio. There were no new animal attacks and Vicki Donovan slept through the night. The girl took the news in stride that she wouldn't be able to go out during the day. Stefan was just starting to explain the ABC's of vampirism to her when there was a knock on the door.

Damon greeted Bonnie and Elena with a smile. "Ladies, to what do we owe the honor?" He said as he ushered them in. Elena kept her distance from Damon while Bonnie gave him a warm hug.

"I have a huge favor to ask?" the witch pleaded.

"As if I could deny you. " the vampire responded. He then noticed how ill at ease the other girl was. "Stef is in the dining room with Vicki if you'd like to see him, Elena." The brothers had let the people with a need to know in on Vicki's dilemma the night before .

Elena nodded as she excused herself, leaving Bonnie and Damon alone.

"So what would you have of me, little witch?" He said while playing absently with one of her curls.

"Its Caroline." Bonnie began. "I know you can't compel her to tell you who did this to her, but can you compel her to forget what was done to her?"

"I should be able to soften the blow for her."

"Thank you. When can you do it?"

"Do you have something with vervain in it for her to wear afterward?"

"I do. "  
"Then let's go back to your house and you invite over the Barbie and I'll make her world all pretty and pink again."

Elena had driven herself and Bonnie to the Salvatore house so Damon just let his brother know he was taking Bonnie home handle something. Stef had a couple vervain syringes in case Vicki got out of control so Damon wasn't concerned about leaving. On the way to Bonnie's, he made a side stop at the grocery store. The girl lifted an eyebrow as she watched the vampire choose produce and a few other items.

Realizing Bonnie's confusion. "We won't have time for dinner out before the Halloween carnival so I'll whip up something that can cook while I talk with Caroline."

Once at the house, Bonnie called her fellow cheerleader while Damon rubbed spices into pork chops and set them to roast.

Bonnie sat silently while Damon talked with Caroline, He "explained" to the blonde that she had a bad experience with the guy she had been dating but she deserved to be treated better and she was to avoid the jerk at all costs. Damon nodded to Bonnie so that she could place a small silver locket around Caroline's neck.

"Caroline, your best friends Bonnie and Elena went to a lot of trouble to get you something very special." Damon impressed upon the girl. "You should never take it off."

"I will never take it off" Caroline repeated.

"Good girl. Now there's a party tonight. Run home and get your costume ready and be careful who you talk too."

"Alright." Caroline smiled. She stood and hugged Bonnie. "Thank you for the present." And she skipped out the door.

Bonnie turned to Damon. "That's amazing. A total attitude adjustment."

"That's nothing. She wanted to forget whole thing." Damon headed back to the kitchen. "Its harder when you're convincing someone to do something they'd rather not. Now you should go get changed while I finish the risotto."

"What about you?" She looked over the man's street clothes. "Aren't you wearing a costume?"

"I'm already a vampire." Damon smirked. "I don't need anything else. Now scoot."

The table was set and the food out of the oven by the time Bonnie returned to the kitchen. "It smells delicious."

"Its nothing special. Just rubbed pork chops, risotto and a salad." Damon tried to sound modest. "Next time, I'll have more time."

"Next time?"

"Next time." He handed her a glass of wine.

They ate companionably. Bonnie wished that Emily's grimoire had not been lost . Since Emily had made the Salvatore daylight rings, the spell must have been recorded within the book.

"Its probably for the best if Vicki's movements are limited until she gains some control."

"Why do you say that?"

"When he fed properly, Stefan was every bit my equal in strength. I couldn't have wrestled the ring off his finger if I taken a mind to and now I wish I had." Damon contemplated. "Maybe if I had tried it, Stef wouldn't be in the spot he's in now." His phone rang at that moment.

"What's up brother?"

"Vicki got away from me."

"What? How?" Damon switched to speaker phone so that he wouldn't have to repeat to Bonnie.

"Elena left right before sundown to get ready for the carnival. I took Vicki into the yard to let her get used to her speed and strength." Stefan took a breath. "Elena isn't dealing as well as I had hoped and I wasn't paying enough attention to Vicki."

"And she ran off." Bonnie completed his sentence.

"Yeah."

"Okay, " Damon planned. "Bonnie and I will head toward the Grill and her home. You head toward the school."

"I'm sorry, Damon. I should have been able to catch her."

"Nothing to be done about it now, brother. Let's just get her contained before she hurts someone and draws attention to us." Damon then clicked off his cell. "So much for a fun filled evening."

Bonnie shrugged. "Does seem like the odds are always against us having fun."

Vicki was not at the Grill and neither she nor Matt were at the Donovan residence. So Bonnie and Damon headed to the school. They were too late. Stefan had to stake the new vampire. Vicki attacked Elena and tried to hurt Jeremy. Sadly Jeremy had seen everything.

Damon looked at the graying body. "I'll take care of this."

"What are you going to do with her?" Elena asked.

"I'll take the body and dump it."

"You can't just dump her. She deserves to be buried." Elena began to argue.

"Perhaps we should bring her to her brother and explain exactly what happened to her." Damon was losing patience. "I'm sure that will go over real well."

"Asshole." Elena yelled as she went to slap him.

This time he was ready for the strike and caught her hand in mid swing. Reminding the human that she was bleeding, he sent her home to take care of her brother.

Bonnie went with Elena, Jeremy and Stefan back to the Gilbert house. Jenna was out for the evening and Jeremy headed directly to his room, slamming the door.

Damon found the trio sitting on Elena's porch when he returned from disposing of Vicki. Looking at his brother, "Next time, we choose Door Number Two."

Not understanding, Bonnie grabbed Damon's hand. "Can you have a talk with Jeremy? Like you did with Care?"

Damon nodded and turned to Elena. "What do you want him to know?"


	9. Chapter 9

Phantom fingers danced across her cheek, butterfly light. Caught in the twilight between sleeping and waking, Bonnie tried to brush away the tickle only to find nothing there. She opened her sore, blood shot eyes to find her room empty.

Last night she had kept it together in front of everyone but after Damon dropped her off at her home, she had collapsed onto the living room floor and cried. She cried for Vicki who would never have a chance to turn her life around, for Matt because he would never know what happened to his sister and was now alone for all intents and purposes. She cried for Jeremy losing the first girl he cared about and not knowing why and for Damon who kept his stoic mask in place while he took care of the details and made sure the rest of them could move on. Finally she cried for herself, for feeling so helpless. People she knew and cared about were being hurt and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Her phone went off as it received a text message. Bonnie looked around her bed for the gadget. She finally saw it propped up on her night table. It rested against a crystal bud vase containing a single yellow rose tipped in red. Neither the vase nor the rose had been there when she crawled under the blankets the night before.

She picked up the phone and opened her message.

**You okay? Things a little better with the sunshine? -D**

**How did you know? -B **She wiped as her eyes and touched the petals of the flower.

**I just did. You were too quiet. I shouldn't have left you alone. I'm sorry. -D**

**Where did you go? -B**

**Vicki had ingested the entirety of my blood bag stash during her stay. I headed well out of town to feed. -D**

**Oh-B**

**No one got hurt. I just want to keep a low profile right now.-D**

**Okay. What are you doing today?-B**

**Need to figure out how to infiltrate the council. But for now going to sleep, it's been a long night?-D**

**Sleep well. -B**

**See you later, little witch.-D**

**PS give my brother grief today, it's his b-day-D**

Bonnie shook her head as she headed to the shower. As much he claimed to hate his brother, Damon did care for him.

Damon slept fitfully for a few hours. When consciousness returned, he was immediately aware of someone in the house who wasn't human. Of course, _she _would be here. It was, after all, Stefan's birthday and she wouldn't miss that.

Leaping out of bed, Damon quickly showered, dressed and crept up to Stefan's room. Peering in, he saw the lovely blonde sleeping in his brother's bed. As quietly as he could, the vampire slipped onto the bed next to her.

It was only a moment before Lexie opened her eyes and immediately grabbed the man next to her by his throat.

"Is that any way to treat your best friend's brother, especially in his house?" Damon croaked.

"Is it any way to treat a guest by climbing in bed with her?" The older vampire released her grip and stood.

"Aww Lex, it's not like we've never been in this position before." He grinned.

"You've got some nerve referring to New York."

"Consider it payback for New Orleans."

"Excuse me?" Lexie was suddenly confused. She remember meeting up with him in the Big Easy but couldn't understand why he thought leaving her stuck scrambling for cover on a New York City rooftop for an entire day.

"I wanted to patch things up with Stefan and you told me that I was the worst thing for him and then you had the nerve to search me out decades later because you thought I'd flipped the switch off." Damon could feel his anger rising. "My humanity was online both in New Orleans and New York. I just didn't give a shit about much at the time other than my people here in Mystic Falls and my brother."

"It was too dangerous for Stefan to be around you. You're too casual about feeding, he would have lapsed again." Lexie was stumbling over her words. She had been certain that Damon had his humanity off both of those times.

"Seems to me that Stef doesn't need me around to lapse from his diet." Damon sneered. "It doesn't take much to pull him off the wagon. And encouraging him to drive an ambulance in the middle of a war was absolute idiocy. I could have been there to pull him back from the edge."

"You seemed fine leaving him with me when you were both turned."

"He was out of control, high on the power and I could have been just as easily sucked into the same situation. You're lucky you didn't find yourself saddled with two rippers. So forgive me if I needed some time to get my own shit together."

Damon took a deep calming breath. He hadn't realized how long he'd been wanting to say that to the woman in front of him. "I need a drink. Want one?" He didn't wait for an answer as he headed out of the room.

When Lexie entered the lounge a few moments later, she found that the younger vampire had poured her a drink already. She took a seat and studied him. Finally she began. "When we met, you seemed like you had it figured out already and Stefan was such a wreck. I never stopped to think about how you might have been floundering."

"As you see, I survived."

"Stefan says you've done more than survived. He said you'd been protecting a bloodline of witches?"

"The Bennett witches, yes. I asked a favor from Katherine's maid Emily and in return I promised to look after her family. In time they became my family." He studied the alcohol in his glass. "But that didn't preclude me wanting...needing my brother."

Lexie remained silent. She had always chosen to think ill of Damon because he had walked away. It never occurred to her that the new vampire didn't know how to deal with the changes in his brother. More than once , Lexie had wish that Katherine Pierce wasn't dead just so she could stake the bitch herself and now she realized how Katherine's actions had nearly destroyed the elder Salvatore brother as well.

"Has my brother told you about Elena yet?" The Salvatore in question asked to break the looming silence.

"He mentioned that he had a human girlfriend."

"Then he hasn't told you _about _her yet." Damon sighed, "You'll meet her soon, I'm sure and then you can tell me what's wrong with this picture." He drained his glass and checked his watch. "I have some things to do in town. There's a place in town with decent burgers and a bar. See if you can't drag my broody brother over there tonight and we'll celebrate."

"Damon, I..."

"Its fine Lexie. It's not like we don't have forever to fix things." He headed to the door, making sure the unprotected vampire would not be in sunlight's path when he opened it. "My shower is nicer than Stef's. Help yourself."

School had just let out by the time Damon reached the main drag. He smiled as he saw a particular blonde cheerleader window shopping. "Caroline!"

"Hi Damon." the girl bounced up to him.

"You are just the beautiful girl I was looking for."

"Huh?"

"A little birdie told me that you are a consummate party planner." Caroline preened at his compliment and Damon took a moment to discreetly make sure the girl still had on her vervain necklace. "Today is Stef's birthday and well it's not he's had a lot of time to make friends. So I was wondering.."

"If I could gather together some people to help him celebrate?" Glee filled the girl.

"Precisely." He dug his wallet out and handed her a credit card. "No cake needed. Stef isn't big on cake but food and beverage at the grill would be great."

The cheerleader giggled, taking the plastic. "It will be perfect."

"Thanks Care. I'll see you tonight."

Hopefully a large gathering will draw out the other vampires in town, Damon thought. He probably shouldn't be using his brother's solar anniversary like this but with most of the people he cared about in one place, he had more control. Sheila was going to be on campus till late and Bonnie and her friends would be with him.

A few hours later, Damon walked into the grill to find the gathering in full swing. Caroline had done good. He stopped at the bar to retrieve a drink and sign off on the tab. He wasn't paying for alcohol since this was a high school party but Caroline had made sure there was sliders, fries, onion rings and pitchers of pop on the tables. She must have invited the cheerleading squad and entire football team.

The first person he saw Bonnie as she shot pool with Matt Donovan. He slid an arm around her waist in greeting. "How you holding up?" He whispered.

"Better." She smiled at him. "Great party."

"Couldn't let the baby bro get away without one." He then caught sight of his brother and Elena. Neither looked happy. "What's with the love birds?"

"Elena texted me. I guess her first introduction with Stefan's best friend, Lexie was only wearing a towel."

Damon nearly choked on his whiskey. "Oh that's rich. Still Elena has nothing to worry about, Lexie is more like a big sister."

"We shooting pool or what?" Matt took the moment to interject.

"Wanna play?" Bonnie offered her cue to the vampire.

"Nine ball? Then we can all play." Damon asked the pair of teens.

They were in the middle of their second game when there was some shuffling in the middle of the pub.

_"Shot through the heart and you're to blame..." _

The pool players looked up from the table to see that the tables and chairs that usually occupied the center of the room had been pushed to the walls and dancers were gathering. This had to be Lexie's influence.

Bonnie set down her cue and grabbed both Damon's and Matt's hands. "Come dance."

Allowing her to pull him toward the center of the floor, Damon retained a hold on her hand as they began to dance. Bon Jovi was followed by The Clash's London Calling. As Radioactive by Imagine Dragons started, Damon spun Bonnie so that her back pressed against his chest as he rocked with her. The floor became crowded causing the two of them to lean closer still into each other. When the first strains of Lifehouse's Hanging by a Moment began, Damon spun her again and wrapped his arms around her waist. Bonnie's arms wound around his neck.

_Desperate for changing, starving for truth  
I'm closer to where I started, I'm chasing after you_

Bonnie found herself lost in Damon's eyes. She couldn't tear away from his gaze.

_I'm falling even more in love with you  
Letting go of all I've held on to  
I'm standing here until you make me move  
I'm hanging by a moment here with you_

Damon swayed with the girl in his arms. Did it ever feel like this with Katherine? He couldn't remember. Smiling at Bonnie he pressed his forehead to hers.

_Forgetting all I'm lacking, completely incomplete  
I'll take your invitation, you take all of me now_

Lexie had been turning with the music and caught the vision of Damon and Bonnie. She nudged Stefan who was lip syncing the song to Elena. He shot his best friend a perturbed look until she gestured for him to look across the floor at his brother. Stefan's eyes widen for a second, even in the dimness he could see the look in his brother's eyes. Damon was obviously happy. When was the last time he had seen him happy? When they were human?

_I'm falling even more in love with you  
Letting go of all I've held on to  
I'm standing here until you make me move  
I'm hanging by a moment here with you  
I'm living for the only thing I know  
I'm running and not quite sure where to go  
And I don't know what I'm diving into  
Just hanging by a moment here with you_

Damon and Bonnie looked completely oblivious to anything other than each other.

_There's nothing else to lose, there's nothing else to find  
There's nothing in the world that can change my mind_

As the song came to the end, Damon bent his head toward Bonnie's ear intending to ask her if she wanted to get out of there. He wanted to be alone with her. Someplace quieter where he could hold onto the feeling that was starting to work its way through him. But just above the sound of music and Bonnie's heart, there was the sound of a shriek. Raising his head, he realized that Stefan and Lexie had heard it as well.

Leading Bonnie over to his brother, he scanned the room. "I'm going outside to see who decided to crash the party." He told his companions.

"I'll go with you." Stefan stated.

"No, stay here and keep everyone inside for the time being. I'll be back shortly."

"How am I suppose to do that?"

I don't know. Buy a round of shots or something." Damon didn't give the birthday boy a chance to argue and left.

Outside , he listened and tracked the source of the noise to the alley. A girl was pinned to the wall by a young looking vampire in a dirty denim jacket intent on gnawing his way into her neck.

"Please, a little finesse." Damon said in a low voice that only the other vampire would hear. He then bellowed for help, hoping the Sheriff was nearby.

The younger vampire was startled and tried to make a break for it. Damon put on some speed and tackled the lesser predator. Pushing the punk to the ground and holding him there, he quickly impressed on the girl exactly what she should tell the sheriffs. He had just finished compelling her when the cavalry arrived. One of the sheriffs went to the girl and two others went to assist Damon.

Finally able to stand, Damon went over to where Liz Forbes was assessing the situation. "You're Zach Salvatore's nephew, aren't you?"

"Yes ma'am." He turned on the charm. "We're celebrating Stef's birthday but it was getting too crowded so I stepped out for some air when I heard a struggle."

The girl was already telling a deputy the story Damon had concocted on the fly, while he staunched the blood flowing at her neck.

The captured vampire was trying to twist away from the officers. "Yeah that's right, grab me and let that va..." One of the deputies lost his grip on the vampire. As the vamp tried to break the grip of the other deputy, Damon saw a broken piece of wooden pallet on the ground which he grabbed and plunged into the chest of villain.

Liz watched in awe. "Not bad. I take it Zach told you all about this."

"He did. I've been meaning to come to your office, but I wanted to get my brother settled first." Damon tried to look like a concerned citizen. "I'd like to join the council."

"Come by tomorrow around noon. We'll grab lunch and talk."

"I should go check on Stefan and his friends. I'll see you tomorrow."

Meanwhile inside, Lexie brought a round of shots to the table. She pushed a glass toward Bonnie who was sitting there twisting her hands together. "So you and Damon?"

"Me and Damon what?" Bonnie responded.

"He didn't mention that you were a couple."

Bonnie choked on the alcohol she attempted to shoot. "We're not a couple. Just friends."

"That's not what it looked like on the dance floor." The blonde vampire grinned.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll figure it out very soon, if not already." Lexie then winked. "I'm just surprised about how he is with you. "

"How so?"

"He seems relaxed and open with you tonight."

"You mean not the arrogant, sarcastic and all around self titled dick?"

"That about sums it up, yeah."

Bonnie sighed. "If I had first met Damon on the street, I probably wouldn't give him the time of day. But he isn't what he pretends to be when he's around me and Grams. I know he's not perfect and I can accept that because I know why he keeps others at arm's length."

"Its good that he has you." Lexie gave Bonnie's hand a light squeeze.

Damon walked up to the table then. He looked at Bonnie but the spell had already been broken and would not be regained this night. "Looks like the party is wrapping up. We should get going."

Lexie, Stefan and Damon returned to the boarding house after dropping off Elena and Bonnie. Damon was pouring drinks for the three of them. He had already filled them in on entry into the council.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Stefan asked.

"Well at least we'll know how smart they are." Damon responded. "Besides the enemy of my enemy and all that."

"The vampire you staked tonight?" Lexie asked. She was sitting on the back of the couch with her bare feet on the seat.

Damon passed a tumble to Lexie and then his brother. "A fledgling. No way he could have compelled Caroline Forbes."

"Great, " Stefan downed his alcohol and stood to refill his glass. "Someone's building a nest."

"Or wants us to think that." Damon countered.

"Well enough downer talk." Lexie straightened a little. "Damon, tell me about Bonnie?"

"What do you mean?"

"You two looked awfully friendly at the Grill."

"We are friends." Damon knew what the blonde was insinuating but he didn't want to talk about it yet especially since he didn't know what it meant yet.

"My brother, while exceedingly bright, on many levels," Stefan began. "can be rather obtuse when it comes to woman." He then laughed lightly.

Damon scowled for a moment then realized his brother was actually teasing him, "And you, baby brother, are exceedingly dull most of the time but always find a way to loosen up with Lexie at your side." He put his arm around his brother's neck pulling him in to rub his knuckles against Stefan's scalp. "We should get her to stay a while."

Stefan pushed his older brother off him then raked through his hair to fix it. Damon dropped onto the couch next to Lexie's legs and rested his head on her thigh. Turning his face toward her, he gave his best puppy dog look. "Please stay, he's so much more fun when you're here."

Lexie playfully pushed him off. The day before she would have thrown him across the room but his demeanor tonight was something new to her. She pondered this as Damon reclined into the corner of the couch. "I can't." she said firmly. "I'm need to leave at sundown to catch up with someone in Georgia."

"Who?" Stefan asked. "New boyfriend?"

"Something like that." Lexie hedged.

"I think you should go check him out, Stef." Damon suggested to his brother. "Make sure he's good enough for your bestie."

Lexie giggled. "He's very much good enough for me. If you two can keep out of trouble, I'll bring him for a visit sometime."

Stefan's phone buzzed. "Its Elena. I'm just gonna go call her back." He ducked out of the room and up the stairs.

Damon waited till Stefan was out of ear shot. "So?"

"He's falling for a girl that looks like Katherine." Lexie fumed. "What the hell."

"You've only seen the picture," Damon added. "Its downright creepy how so identical Elena looks to Katherine. She's Katherine in every way but personality."

"Does she know?"

"No Stefan hasn't told her, but he needs to."

"Or you should."

"I could but it would be better if Stefan manned up and explained." Damon refilled his and Lexie's glasses. "Stefan has already been knocked down a notch on the trust scale since Elena had to find out our secret on her own."

"But your witch knows?" Lexie asked.

"Her grandmother, Sheila, was the one to point out Elena to me."

"And you don't know why the resemblance?"

"Not yet, but I will." Damon assured her.

Worried that her best friend might be headed for a fall, Lexie began, "You'll call me if he needs anything?"

"Sure"

"You'll call if either of you need anything?" She laid a hand on Damon's arm.

"Yeah, I'll keep you in the loop."

Stefan skipped school the next day to hang out with Lexie at the house till the sun went down. Damon had lunch with Liz and was informed about joining the council and what their objectives were.

That evening Lexie stood next to her car with Stefan saying goodbye. She looked up toward the upper windows of the house and saw Damon standing there staring out from his bedroom. Looking down at her, he bowed slightly much like he did when he left Stefan in her care the first time. Tilting her head a little, she sketched a small curtsy. This time it was she who was leaving Stefan in the care of Damon. The dark haired vampire lifted his glass and saluted her as she hugged Stefan and then drove off.

Stefan re-entered the house as Damon came downstairs.

"You're not going to start brooding already, are you?"

"Ha...Ha!" Was Stefan's only reply.

"What are you doing tomorrow night?" Damon asked knowing it was time to bring his brother up to speed.

"Brooding, what else." Stefan quipped.

"How about we get a pizza and go do something?" Damon cajoled. "We need to talk about a couple things too."

"Talk about your bargain with Emily?"

"Yeah that and other things." Damon shrugged on his jacket. "I'm headed out to replenish my stash. I'll be a couple hours."

"I need to go hunting. See you in the morning?"

"I'll put on the coffee."

Across town, Bonnie and Elena sat facing each other on Elena's bed.

"So fill me in on what's going on with you and Damon." Elena demanded.

"You already know, we're friends." Bonnie demurred. She couldn't explain to her friend what she was feeling when she danced with Damon and she was scared that she had imagined it.

"Friends dancing together doesn't look as hot as you two looked last night." Elena pouted. "Stefan and I didn't even look like that, and we're officially dating."

Bonnie grabbed a pillow looking to change the subject. "Remember me telling you that Grams said that the Bennetts are witches?"

"Yeah."

"Well its true." Bonnie tore into the pillow exposing the feathers. Before Elena could protest much, Bonnie started the feathers floating around them.


	10. Chapter 10

Stefan and Damon traipse across the high school campus the night after Lexie's departure. The older Salvatore had met up with his brother after the younger had finished class for the day. While there was no conversation, they managed to peaceably share a large pizza and a pitcher of beer together.

"Why are we here , little brother?" Damon scanned the darkened football field.

Stefan walked over to the storage shed near the bleachers. He glanced at the lock and then leaned against the wall of the shed. "Oh, just thought we might enjoy the night," he swung his closed fist downward, striking the lock set into the door. "and some exercise." The door bounced open.

"Aw Steffie? What am I to do with you." Damon smirked. "A little B and E to add to your academic record?"

Stepping into the shed, Stefan tossed out a football. "Not as good as our first one, but it will do."

"What happened to that thing anyway? You're the family pack rat."

"Not sure. After you took off, Lexie had me leave the area while she tried to teach me to feed." Stefan grimaced. "When I returned, Father's mistress and her son had taken up residence."

"Ah yes, continuation of the Salvatore line."

"Which is now gone, thanks to you."

"Still not apologizing." Damon picked up the ball and sped to the far end of the field. He then hurled the ball back toward his brother but sped back in order to intercept his own pass. "Besides, we can always go to Italy to find a distant cousin who wants to come abroad." He then tossed the ball to his brother. "Lets see what you got kid."

The two played for about an hour, passing the ball back and forth, trying to kick field goals from the opposite goal posts and tackling each other. Finally they ended up laying on their backs at the 50 yard line, laughing.

"The ball may not be as good but the game is more fun." Stefan smiled at his brother. It had been too long since they were content in each other's presence.

"Yeah but I thought vampires didn't get sick." Damon rubbed his stomach.

"Told you not to eat that last piece."

"Completely worth it. Who knew that pizza in Virginia would be better than pizza in New York City."

Stefan rolled onto his own stomach to get a better look at his brother. "You said you'd tell me tonight about your deal with Emily."

"You keeping that?" Damon gestured to the ball laying between the two.

"Yeah, I think I will."

"Then grab it and walk with me, my boy." Damon hopped up and made to exit the field. Stefan picked up his new ball and followed.

Across town, Elena and Caroline were setting candles around Elena's room while Bonne set up a Ouija board on the floor.

"Tell me again why we are doing this," Caroline complained.

"I've been having some disturbing dreams about my ancestor Emily," Bonnie began. "So I need to know what she wants."

"So we're going to talk to your great great grandmother?" Caroline began, "Couldn't we summon someone more interesting , like Heath Ledger?"

"Not this time Caroline." Bonnie sighed.

"Besides, why would he talk to us?" Elena added.

When everything was in place, the girls sat around the board and clasped handed. The unlit candles around the room flared to life.

"Cool," Caroline exclaimed.

Each of the girls placed a hand on the shuttle of the board. It slowly began moving though each would deny trying to push it.

Bonnie began asking questions of the board but the shuttle continued to circle. Suddenly all of the candles were extinguished and even the street light outside the window went dark. All three girls shrieked.

Elena found her way around the bed to her table where she kept an emergency flashlight. Turning it one, she saw her blonde friend but not Bonnie. The bedroom door slammed shut.

"Bonnie?" Elena went to follow her friend only to find that she could not open the door.

Damon and Stefan reached their destination.

"What are we doing here, Damon?"

"Returning to the scene of the crime." the elder answered.

"But why? Stefan scanned the area. The stone foundation was all that remained of Fell's Church. The road where the brothers had fallen by their father's hand had been reclaimed by the wild.

"Did you know that Mystic Falls has a veritable honeycomb of caverns underneath it that predate the town by more than a century?" Damon offered the history lesson.

"And this relates to your deal with Emily how?" Stefan coaxed.

"Part of the cavern wall collapsed close to the old church sealing it off from the rest of the system, still the area was fairly large."

"Keep going."

"My deal with Emily was simple enough. I offered protection for her family line in return for protecting Katherine should the vampire hunters come for her." Damon finished.

"But she was no more success than we were." Stefan was confused. "Katherine perished when the church burned."

"No, Emily was successful." Damon clarified. "Katherine and all of the vampires that were in the church with her became entombed in the catacombs."

"WHAT!" Stefan shouted. "Why didn't you tell me when we awoke in transition?"

"I originally thought Emily had failed when I woke and there was no Katherine." Damon answered. "Emily did not tell me about the tomb until after my transition. She wanted me to make my own decision regarding being a vampire, without Katherine's influence."

"Okay so how?"

"Emily gave Katherine her amulet . Katherine wasn't wearing it when she was captured, but it still worked. The amulet sealed the entrance to the tomb."

"And now."

"Emily gave me the amulet and I hid it before leaving Mystic Falls. It needed to recharge with the energy of that comet that just passed." Damon smiled. "I retrieved the amulet and gave it to Bonnie. She, Shelia and I will open the tomb soon."

"Then what?"

"Then, little brother, we will grab our bitch of a maker and get some answers."

"Are you still in love with her?"

"No she was greedy and selfish." Damon 's expression was self depreciating. "Are you...still in love?"

"I never truly loved her." Stefan claimed "She only compelled my affection. So if neither of us love her, why don't we just leave her to rot?"

"I thought about that." Damon paced around the church foundation. "But I want to look her in the eyes and have her lie to me one more time before I rip her heart out." Stefan's eyes widened. "And then there is the whole Elena situation."

"What Elena situation."

"I'm betting that our maker can tell us exactly why your new girlfriend looks like your old girlfriend." Damon proclaimed. "If we have to resort to torture, I'm game."

"And the other twenty some vampires down there?"

"They're practically corpses. We go in, grab Katherine and the witches seal the tomb."

Out of the corner of his eye, Damon caught movement in the woods. As he took a couple steps forward, Bonnie emerged from the shadows. "BonBon what are you doing out here? I thought you were having a slumber party. Shouldn't you be with Elena braiding each other's hair?"

The air around the girl seemed to flicker and Damon swore for a moment that he saw Emily standing in Bonnie's place.

"Bonnie?" The air flickered again. "Come on Bonnie lets get you home." As Damon reached for her, he was suddenly flung at a tree narrowly avoiding being impaled by a low branch.

Stefan ran to his brother as Bonnie turned to face them. "You won't find answers here, vampire." Emily's voice echoed. She unclasped the amulet from around her neck.

"Let her go, Emily." Damon shouted. "We had a deal. Now it's time for you to keep your end. Let Bonnie go."

The girl/spirit flung the amulet high into the air where it exploded into a shower of light.

"No!" Damon finally broke free of the tree and sped toward Bonnie, catching her as she collapsed.

"Bonnie?" Damon cradled her as he watched for a response.

"Damon?" Bonnie's eyes fluttered open. "Emily? The amulet?"

"Its okay, its okay." He picked up the slight girl into his arms and turned to his brother. Elena had just entered the clearing. "I'm taking Bonnie home. Can you two call Sheila and let her know what happened?"

Stefan nodded and Elena pulled a phone out of her pocket.

Damon sped Bonnie to her home. By the time they reached her porch, Bonnie was able to stand on her own.

Damon sat on her bed as she changed into clean yoga pants and a tee shirt. He peeled back the blankets for the girl to crawl into the bed.

"Damon, I ...I'm sorry." She finally said.

"Shhhh." Damon place a finger over her lips. "Its not your fault."

"But we can't open the tomb now."

"We'll find another way."

"I'm so tired."

"Not surprising." Damon tried to smile but it was lopsided, "You were rode hard, literally, and put away wet." He reached out to turn out her bedside lamp.

"Stay with me?" Bonnie pleaded.

"Okay, till you fall asleep."

Sheila entered the quiet house owned by her son. She walked silently to the doorway of Bonnie's room. Inside she watched as Damon lay on his side next to her granddaughter. He used one hand to prop up his head and the other to stroke the girl's hair as she dozed. All the while, he murmured nonsense to reassure her.

When he finally looked up at Sheila, she nodded her head toward the hallway. Damon gently extricated himself from the bed and followed Sheila.

"Your brother told me what happened. Is she okay?"

"Shaken up but no real harm."

"Why would Emily destroy the amulet." Sheila shook her head. "it was her spell."

"Dunno know. Maybe dying drives witches to insanity."

Sheila shot the vampire a dirty look. "If the Bennetts can no longer uphold their part of the bargain, does that mean you're walking away?

Damon reached for Sheila's hand. "I'm not going anywhere." At the cock of the witch's head, he continued. "Just because Emily went bat shit, doesn't mean you'll get rid of me that easily." He tugged her into a hug. "We don't need Emily or the amulet."


	11. Chapter 11

It was two weeks after the destruction of the amulet that Damon found himself in Sheila's living room leaning against the doorframe into the kitchen, grimoire in hand. Snapping the book shut , he walks over to where Sheila is reclining with her feet up on the couch. Trading the mystical journal for another resting on the coffee table, the vampire scoops up the witch's legs and slips onto the couch allowing her sock clad feet to settle onto his lap.

Sheila lets out a contented sigh as Damon absently begins to massage the arch of one foot. "Keep that up and I'll be snoring soon."

The vampire chuckled. "It wouldn't be such a bad thing. You look tired, sweet girl."

"And you look restless."

"More frustrated than anything else."

"Stefan still giving you problems."

"He thinks we should leave town," he runs a hand through his hair. "as if this town will just go back to sleep if he and I leave."

Sheila snorts. "And what does he think the other vampires in town will do? Follow your lead?"

Damon shakes his head. "Listening to my brother, you'd think that I was the one who turned that damn reporter."

"I still find it ironic that one of the vampire hunters got turned."

"Yeah. Our unidentified bad hat might be a pain in the ass but he has a sense of humor. I should buy him a drink."

"So now what?" Sheila tossed the book she was reading on the table. "We've each been through every one on these," sweeping her hand above the collection of leather-bound journals, "at least three times. None of Emily's spells made it into the journals of her children or grandchildren."

"We need to figure out what happened to the original journal." Damon nudged the woman's legs off his lap and he stood. "It wasn't with her at her death so where the hell did it disappear to?"

"And that has been the deepest mystery of the Bennetts for a century."

"Maybe we've just been too close to this and need a breather." Damon began to circle the room, picking up a knick knack here and there then returning them to their spot. "You need to get some rest, and I...I need to get out of town for a day or two."

"Road trip?"

"Stefan won't leave if he knows I'll be back. He can handle any problems for a day."

"A day?"

"Okay, 48 hours tops. I just can't deal with Stef's never ending guilt right now." Damon stares out the window at the moon.

Rising from the couch, Sheila goes to the vampire and hugs him from behind. "We'll be fine."

Damon clasps one of the hands resting against his stomach. "Are you going to call Sheriff Forbes and accuse me of kidnap if Bonnie doesn't show up for school tomorrow?"

Sheila releases her hold on him and heads for her liquor cabinet. "Now I know how Wendy felt."

"Wendy?" Damon cocks his head in confusion.

"When Peter Pan finally returns to London, he finds that Wendy has grown older and he eventually whisks Wendy's daughter off to Neverland."

Biting his lip, Damon understands. "You could come with us, you know."

"And cheat Bonnie out of her first adventure, no" Sheila shakes her head. "I'm older and getting tired. Adventures are for the young, or at least those who can play the part."

"That's something I've meant to ask you."

"What's that?"

"I've known enough witches that have suspended their aging process, and I've seen a similar spell in your grandmother's grimoire." Damon placed his hands on Sheila's shoulders. "Why haven't you used that spell, why didn't anyone else in this family?"

"In part, the Founding families. Lack of aging would raise suspicions. Besides, it would be creepy for me to look the same age as my granddaughter." The witch smiled. "You go on and collect Bonnie. I'll call her in as an excused absence tomorrow and maybe play hooky myself and head to the spa for some pampering."

"That's my girl."

"It sure as hell beats trying to sleep in a moving car." She laughed.

Damon dropped a kiss on her head. "I love you, Wendy Lady."

"I love you too, Peter."

Bonnie was snuggled deep into her bed buried under the thick blankets fast asleep when an arm snaked around her waist.

"Wakey wakey, little witch. Time's a wasting." Damon's warm breath tickled her exposed ear.

"Damon?" Bonnie cracked open an eye.

Pushing off the bed, he peeled back the covers revealing the flannel clad girl. "Come on, we have to go so you need to get dressed."

Sitting up she looked at her clock. "Its after midnight. Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"I have school tomorrow, I can't be going out now."

"No you don't. Its all taken care of." Damon pulled the girl off the bed and propelled her toward her bathroom. "Go get cleaned up, I'll explain on the way."

Bonnie took a fast shower to wake up. Damon was downstairs when she emerged from the bathroom but he had obviously chosen her clothing for the occasion as jeans, boots, and a sweater were laid out on her made bed. The girl blushed when she realized that he had also gone into her underwear drawer.

By the front door, Damon was sending a text to Stefan when Bonnie came down.

**Brother, off to visit a friend. Will be back the day after tomorrow. Keep an eye on things, will you?"-D**

Damon stuffed his phone into a hip pocket then thrust a Bonnie's leather jacket and purse at her. "Let's go."

Once settled into the passenger seat, Bonnie waited impatiently for Damon to head onto the highway before she questioned him. "Okay, explain," she crossed her arms. "Where are we going?"

"An old friend of mine lives in Atlanta," Damon smiled at the memory of his old flame. "Thought we'd go for a visit."

"Georgia?"

"Yup, its not like it's all that far."

"Grams told me about your infamous road trips."

"Oh really?" Damon turned his head to look at the young woman. "And just what did Sheila tell you?"

A smirk graced Bonnie's face, "Weeeelllll, she said that... Oh my God." Her eyes went wide as in the distance she watched a large black SUV flip over.

"Shit." Damon gave his complete attention to the road.

As they drew closer, Bonnie recognized the car. "That's Elena."

Damon slammed on the brakes as he observed a dark figure pick itself up off the asphalt and walk toward the wreckage. Elena Gilbert screamed as the elder Salvatore was already out of his vehicle and speeding over to her side. The dark figure then sped away from the scene.

Damon had already gotten the shaken girl out of her car by the time Bonnie reached them.

"I look like her." was the only thing Elena said before she passed out.

Bonnie looked at her companion.

_Son of a bitch, Brother_. Damon thought. _You didn't tell her but she went ahead and found out on her own didn't she and now I'm cleaning up your mess...again_. He looked to the witch beside him who stared at her friend with concern. "We should probably take her back to town."

"Or we could take her with us?" Bonnie asked hopefully.

"Fine. But if she get's pissed when she wakes, it was your idea."

"Absolutely."

Damon hoisted Elena's limp body into his arms and carried her to his car.


	12. Chapter 12

Paper crackled. "Why are you looking at that map?"

These words were the first things Elena Gilbert heard as she gained consciousness. The voice of the speaker was familiar but she couldn't quite place it yet but she already realized that she was in a moving vehicle, sunlight was hitting her face, and she was ungodly sore. Then she remembered the accident. The car flipping over. The dark figure coming toward her and then Damon getting her out of the car.

"I'm looking for how far it is till the next exit." A second voice responded to the first. Elena did recognize this one as belonging to her best friend, Bonnie. Remaining still, Elena cracked open her eyes just enough to see Bonnie riding shot gun while Damon Salvatore drove.

"We don't need the next exit, we still have about another hour or two of highway driving." Damon advised.

"Damon, we may be another two hours to Atlanta," _Atlanta?_ Elena thought. "But I need a rest room now."

"Well , if that's the situation,," the vampire teased. "I can just pull over here and you can find a tree."

_Gross._

"Damon Salvatore, I swear to God that if you don't find a truck stop where I can use a restroom and get a large cup of coffee, I will stake you ." Bonnie threatened.

"Okay, okay, little witch." Damon tried to pacify Bonnie. "The next exit is about two miles up the road. We can stop there."

"Thank you." At that point Bonnie must have looked at the driver's console. "Wait a minute. The gas is nearly on empty, you were needing to stop anyway."

"I know but you're cute when you get worked up." He was teasing again. "Oww," as Bonnie slapped his arm. "And how are you feeling back there, Gilbert?"

_Busted._

Elena sat up slowly. "I hurt."

Bonnie turned in her seat to get a better look at the other girl. "We tried to check for injuries last night. Where does it hurt?"

"It's really just sore all over." Elena assured her friend. "Did I hear correctly that we're headed to Atlanta? As in Georgia?"

"Yup," Damon answered, popping the 'p'.

"Why am I going to Atlanta?" Elena asked.

"Damon gestured to Bonnie with his head. "Her idea."

"When we pulled you from the car, you were really upset about something." Bonnie began. "Damon was already taking me to Atlanta for a break. I thought you could use a time out too."

Damon pulled the car to the gas pumps at the truck stop. He handed Bonnie his credit card. Tell the attendant I'm filling up and whatever you two want also on the tab.

"A coffee for you and what else?" Bonnie took the card.

"Ding Dongs if they have them."

The girls made a bee line for the counter and then the restroom. Damon was already retrieving his card from the attendant as the girls came back loaded down with coffee and junk food.

"Okay ladies, we have miles to go." Damon ushered them out of the shop.

"But he didn't scan the food." Elena protested as she was hustled back to the car.

"It fine, Gilbert."

Elena looked over Damon's shoulder and the attendant was smiling and waving kindly at them.

"You didn't even pay for the gas, did you?" Bonnie inquired.

"Don't get judgey." Damon pulled the car back onto the highway. "He has the anti-theft mirrors set just right to see down the blouses of any young girl who walked in."

"Perv."

"Exactly."

Elena just watched the conversation with rapt attention until Damon decided to focus on his unexpected passenger.

"So care to explain what had you out driving alone at such a late hour?"

Elena described how she had found the picture of Katherine on Stefan's desk though she omitted how she ended up alone in Stefan's room.

Bonnie reach over the seat a squeezed her friend's hand in comfort.

Damon was fairly certain as to the circumstances that lead Elena to his brother's bedroom. _And Father thought Stefan was the smarter one. _Damon mused bitterly. What kind of idiot leaves a picture of his ex-girlfriend where his new girlfriend would find it?

"May I ask why neither of you bothered to inform me as to my likeness to a 500 year old vampire who slept with both my boyfriend and his brother?" Anger was rising in Elena's voice.

"I asked Bonnie not to say anything." Damon confessed. "I was hoping Stefan would tell you given your intimate connection. " Elena blushed. "Or I had hoped to know why you and Katherine share the same face before I needed to tell you."

Bonnie gave a smile clouded by guilt for having to conceal information from her friend. At that moment a phone began to ring.

"My purse." Elena began, "where's my purse?"

"On the floor board."

As the girl extracted the phone from the depths of her bag, her lip began to tremble. "Its Stefan."

Without taking his eyes off the road, Damon held out his hand for the phone. Once it was given, he clicked it on. "Hello Brother."

_"Damon? Where's Elena? Why do you have her phone.? The sheriff found her car."_

"Elena doesn't seem to talk to you right now. Maybe you should tidy up your room from unwanted trash while you wait for her." Damon's patent sarcasm was coming to the surface.

_"Where are you, Damon. Let me speak to her."_

"Sorry no can do. Elena, Bonnie and I are visiting Georgia for an evening of beers and pool. We'll see you Sunday."

"Sunday?" Damon.." And Damon disconnected the call and passed the phone back to Elena. When it rang again, she turned it off.

A short time later, they parked in front of a small bar. Damon hopped out of the vehicle and was about go inside when he realized that his passengers were still sitting in the car. "Well come on."

"They won't let us in," Elena exclaimed as the girls followed him.

"Trust me." Damon smiled.

The bartender was a forty-ish dark skinned woman. The moment she set her eyes on Damon she was hopping over the bar and landing a voracious kiss on the vampire after muttering something about the man who broke her heart. Bonnie could only stare as Damon enthusiastically returned the lip lock. The twinge of jealousy she began to feel increased as Damon introduced the woman as the friend they came to see. She was another witch but had not known much about witches or the craft until she met Damon while in college. Bree claimed that Damon had changed her world while Damon corrected her that he had rocked her world.

Bonnie picked at her food as she, Damon and Elena sat a table laden with burger and beers. Damon was stealing Elena's pickles and filling in the girl on basic vampire anatomy.

"You're being very quiet, little witch."

"I guess I'm just a little drained from the travel." the excuse fell from Bonnie's lips unsuccessfully.

"We should do shots." Elena suggested and ran up to the bar.

Damon did three rounds of shots with Elena and some of Bree's other patrons and then noticed that Bonnie wasn't participating.

"You're missing the fun." He turned to her.

"I've never seen the attraction to doing shots other than getting drunk faster." Bonnie observed as her best friend was twirling around.

"Then you're not doing them right." Damon argued. He asked Bree for a couple lime wedges and two more shots. Lifting a wedge to her lips, he asked her to open.

_Body shots? Was he joking?_ Still Bonnie opened her mouth and held the lime. Damon took a moment to decide where to lick. He didn't think the girl was ready for his teeth too near her jugular. Finally he pushed up the sleeve a her sweater and took a long swipe with his tongue over the crease of her elbow. As he did so, he detected a slight tremor in Bonnie. After sprinkling the newly dampened area with salt, Damon placed a soft kiss there and then opened his mouth to suck deeply and scrape blunt teeth over the sensitive skin. Releasing her arm, Damon looked at her flushed face. Leisurely downing the shot, he took in the shut eyes and flushed skin. With a mischievous grin, he finally leaned in and used lips and tongue to capture the lime Bonnie held hostage.

Licking the remnants of juice from her lips, Bonnie slowly opened her eyes. "My turn?" She asked.

"If you wish. Unless you still don't see the attraction." Damon winked.

Nodding, Bonnie picked up another lime wedge and held it up for Damon to take between his soft lips. He had taken a seat o a stool making it easier for her to reach him. After a moment, Bonnie placed a hand on the side of his head pushing slightly indicating that she wanted him to tilt just a little. She then licked his neck from collar bone to just below his ear. A liberal amount of salt was then applied that Bonnie licked and nibbled at, ending with a nip to his earlobe. Damon straightened his head as she pulled away and watched as she belted back the shot like a seasoned professional and proceeded to suck at the lime wedge without actually pulling it from him.

"I always wondered why Grams taught me how to do tequila shots when I was 16, without salt or lime." Bonnie winked at the astonished vampire. "I guess she figured I'd find my own uses for those."

Elena then bounced over and grabbed Bonnie's had. "Come play pool with me," as she drug her friend to the tables.

Needing a cool down, Damon remained at the bar talking with Bree. She agreed that Emily's grimiore was the best bet at opening the tomb. She also gave him a couple ideas about searching for clues to the book's whereabouts.

During the conversation, Damon found himself more and more distracted by the two tipsy girls shooting pool. Or rather very distracted by the more sober of the two.

"There was a time when I would have given anything for you to look at me like you're looking at that girl right now," Bree said softly from behind him.

Damon blinked and turned to his old friend and former lover, "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

"Of course you don't." A chipper voice came from beside him. "I'm still peeved with myself for never noticing how much of your heart shows in those icy blue eyes."

Damon turned again and faced a perky blonde. "Lexie?" What are you doing here?"

"I called her while you were eating earlier." Bree explained.

"And you two know each other how?" Damon then noticed a tall man standing just behind Lexie.

"This is Lee," Lexie introduced her boyfriend to Damon. "A couple years ago, I was in this bar talking to Stefan on the phone. Imagine my surprise when the bartender asked me if I knew Stefan Salvatore." Lexie giggled. "And the rest is history."

At the pool tables, Elena was trying to pry information from her friend. "That was some performance you put on back there."

"Huh?" Bonnie took her shot and sunk the intended ball then began setting her next shot. "Damon was trying to fluster me and I just decided to give him a taste of his own medicine, that's all."

"So you're not like interested in him?"

Bonnie missed the shot. "No, of course not."

"Well that's good," Elena scanned the table for prospects. "Cause I'm starting to think that I have the wrong brother." She made her shot. "You won't be upset if I go after Damon?" She called the shot for the eight ball and sunk it.

Bonnie's eyes were large and round as she watched Elena. "You wouldn't do that would you? I thought you said you loved Stefan."

Elena broke into a huge smile that immediately let Bonnie know that she'd been had. "You ARE interested in him, admit it."

"Fine, yes. I like him. More than like him."

"So tell him."

"I can't." Bonnie moaned.

"Tell who what?" Lexie joined the girls and received hugs of welcome. After a quick catch up, she guided the conversation back to the one she interrupted. "Now what can't you tell?"

"She's got the hots for Damon but won't tell him." Elena chimed in. She turned back on her phone and began checking her voicemail.

Under Lexie's stare, Bonnie caved. "I do like him as more than a friend. But he wouldn't see me like that. He thinks I'm a child and he has women like Bree all over him."

"Bree is ancient history and just a bit of fun for him." Lexie stated. "I used to think he had his emotions turned off all the time." Lexie looked over at the man in question who was drinking with Lee. "Being around you, he's different."

"But he still sees me as a kid."

"I doubt that but you and he need to figure this out on your own."

Elena groaned behind them. "Stefan's left like 20 messages. I need to call him, I'm going outside where its quiet."

"I'll go with you and tag team him if need be," Lexie offered.

Bonnie was left standing alone at the pool table when Damon approached her. He gestured to a small dance floor by a juke box. "Dance with me?"

Bonnie nodded as he lead her out onto the floor and wrapped his arms around her waist. She placed her arms around his neck and rested a cheek against his chest.

"Did you enjoy this evening?" He finally asked.

"I am. Thank you." Pulling away from him just a bit to see his face, "Why did you bring me along?"

"I wanted you here with me." Damon's eyes traced over her face and rested on her lips. He then brought his face closer to hers and brushed a gentle kiss against her mouth. Bonnie gave a soft moan. Gaging her reaction as positive, Damon was about to kiss her again.

"Damon, Bonnie, we need to get home as soon as possible." Elena ran onto the dance floor.

"Where's the fire?" Though his words were casual, Damon's tone was not.

"I need to talk to Stefan , face to face. And Jenna is fit to be tied over me wrecking the car then disappearing." Elena claimed. Behind her, Lexie mouthed an apology to Bonnie.

"Then by all means we should head home." Damon turned on his heal and headed toward Bree.

Bonnie stood there in confusion. What had just happened? Had she really just been cock blocked by her best friend?

Beside her, Elena twisted her fingers together. "Jenna sounded furious in her voicemail. I guess Stefan told her that I was with you in Atlanta."

"I'm sure she'll get over it." Bonnie growled. "I need to use the rest room before we leave."

The witch was staring into the mirror when Lexie joined her in the ladies. "So my fault, I didn't even think that she would just barge in like that when we saw you on the dance floor." the blonde vampire smoothed Bonnie's hair. "You two looked kinda oblivious to everything but each other. Still think he sees you as just a kid?"

"Is he always like that?" Answering the question with one of his own.

"Like what?"

Bonnie shrugged. "One moment he's kissing me and the next he's ice cold."

"Afraid so. I never could tell if he had shut it all down or not. . Turns out he was just really really good at hiding his feeling so he couldn't get hurt." She smiled at Bonnie in the mirror. "If you're seriously interested in him, don't give up but only if you mean it." She then turned Bonnie toward her to look her in the eyes. "And if you aren't sure, for god's sake do not lead him on."

"What do you mean?"

"I doubt you, your grandmother or any of your family has ever seen Damon Salvatore in a full blown temper tantrum. I don't think your little town would survive."

Finally on the road back to Mystic Falls, the occupants were all silent. Elena ran circles in her head about what she was going to say to her boyfriend and how she would explain all of this to Jenna.

Unbeknownst to each other, Bonnie and Damon were each contemplating their shared kiss and what they wanted. Bonnie had taken Lexie's words to heart. Was she just infatuated with the bad boy sitting next to her or was it something more. What would a long term relationship with a vampire mean to her? Is that even what he wanted? Would he stick around when she was her grandmother's age or older? Did she want to marry and have grandchildren someday? Her head was aching.

Elena was dropped off at the boarding house first. Damon then took Bonnie home. "Next time we road trip, little witch." He pulled to the curb.

"Yes?"

"Just the two of us, okay? No taking in strays."

The witch gave a small smile. "Okay."

"Good night, Bonnie."

"Good night, Damon."

He waited until she was safely in the house before he pulled away and drove to the Grill. He ordered a bourbon and sat at the bar. Though it had been hours ago, he swore he still felt the texture of the girl's lips. And a girl she still was. Barely seventeen, he reminded himself. She doesn't know squat about relationships, especially the type of commitment he wanted.

Smiling to himself, he thought a moment about Bree. She looked well and happy. He had introduced her as an old friend but neglected to say just how old she was. Bree had mastered a little spell that slowed the progression of time on her body. Neither Bonnie nor Elena knew it but Bree was older than Sheila by a decade. A secret that Bree fiercely guarded. Damon wondered if Lexie even knew.

Checking his watch, Damon figured that it was probably safe to head home. Stef would or should have taken his seventeen year old home by now. As he left the Grill, the vampire failed to notice a certain history teacher watching his every move.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone for the reviews. It's absolutely helping keep me motivated.**

The gymnasium was filled with teenagers dressed in poodle skirts and letterman jackets. Damon asked himself why he was here. He'd already survived the era and had no desire to return to it. Now the 60's, hell yeah, but the 50's, not so much. But he knew full well why he came tonight. Even if Sheila had not called, he'd be here.

After tearing apart the boarding house library looking for clues as to the lost grimoire, he sat brooding over a large tumbler of bourbon. His lack of progress in locating the book wasn't the only reason for his mood but it was the only one he was willing to admit to. When Stefan came down dressed to escort Elena to the Decades Dance, Damon had to comment about his younger brother's hair. His phone rang before he could go any further and Stefan left as he answered.

Sheila's exhaustion was evident as she spoke, "Damon, I need a favor."

"What would you have of me, Cara mia?" Damon smiled into the phone.

"I volunteered to help chaperone the school dance tonight, " the witch began, "but I feel like total shit."

"You want me to cover for you?" the vampire cringed.

"Please?"

"Sheila, I don't think that'd be a good idea."

"You're Stefan's older brother, I can call the school and let them know that you're filling in for me." Sheila was practically pleading.

"You doing okay, Sheila?" concern now laced his voice.

"Just really tired lately."

"I'll go keep an eye on the kids on one condition."

"What's that."

"You and I are going to have a talk about your health here very soon. Okay."

"If you say so." Sheila sounded so much like the teenager she used to be that Damon had to chuckle.

"You go take a nice long bubble bath and get some rest."

"Thank you."

"'Night Sheila."

Looking down at his shirt, he decided he needed to change. Not that he really wanted to dress up but no need to stick out either. His phone rang again just as he pulled on a plain white tee shirt. No it wasn't his ring tone. What the...? Stefan's phone sat on the table and Elena was identified as the caller.

Answering his brother's phone, he assured the girl that her boyfriend was on his way. Apparently the Gilbert vampire compass was on the fritz and Elena was getting jumpy. Hanging up with her, Damon stuffed his brother's phone into a pock along with his own and hopped in the car.

About halfway to the school, Elena called again but it was Stefan at the other end of the line. A rogue vampire had gained access inside the house and Elena had been attacked. She was okay but was shaken. Detouring to the Gilbert residence, Damon then convinced the couple that they should attend the dance in hopes of flushing out the attacker.

So here he stood watching for a kid in a black hoodie and boots. Can this be anymore vague? The new history teacher approached him and tried to make conversation. Damon gave the routine answers about being Stefan's older brother and legal guardian but was distracted seeing Bonnie dance with Caroline Forbes.

The day before, Bonnie had ambushed him at the Grill. He had stopped by for a drink after meeting with the Sheriff. He planned on one quick drink and then heading home before the high school let out. But either class let out early or the little witch had cut her last class.

"You've been avoiding me." she stood in front of him with arms folded across her chest.

"Now why would you think that, Bon-Bon?" Damon tried to look confused. He had been avoiding her.

"Well, lets see." the girl tapped her foot , "You don't pick up my phone calls and only respond to my voice mails via texts and even those are brief. Are you mad at me because Elena ended our road trip early?"

"Bonnie.."

"I wanted to bring her with us and she wanted to come back to Stefan before the weekend was half over."

"I'm not mad about that."

"Well then explain to me why you kiss me one moment and the next you won't talk to me." Bonnie beseeched.

"I shouldn't have kissed you, okay." Damon wasn't ready for this conversation. He hadn't spoken to the girl because he hadn't been sure what to tell her.

"What?" Surprised at his statement, the girl pulled away from him. "Well I'm sorry it was such a mistake that you don't even want to be around me anymore." She then turned on her heal and left the building.

Now Damon watched as Bonnie headed off the dance floor. Leaving Saltzman without so much as a word, Damon headed toward his witch. Stopping alongside her, he gave a flirty smile, "May I have this next dance, m'lady?"

If they had not been in a public place, Damon was certain he'd be on the floor screaming given the look Bonnie threw him. "No, I don't think so. I wouldn't want you to make another mistake." And with that she stalked off. Caroline gave him a dirty look suggesting that she knew at least part of the story.

Keeping to a human speed, Damon jogged up ahead of the girls and blocked their path. "Excuse us for a moment, would you Barbie." He took Bonnie by the elbow and hustled her out into the hallway before Caroline could respond.

Finding an alcove where they wouldn't immediately be seen, Damon kept his voice to just above a whisper. "I never said kissing you was a mistake."

"Well then what would you call it?" Crossing her arms protectively around herself. "You're the one who said you shouldn't have done it."

"I wanted to kiss you. But I'm not suppose to ?"

"Explain."

"I promised to protect you, not molest you."

"Molest me, pleeeeaaase." Bonnie practically sneered.

"Given that even if I were human instead of practically dead for the last century and a half, I'd still be older and you'd be jail bait."

"Well you're not human and I'm not exactly average either so what's the problem?" Bonnie was trying hard to keep her voice even. "Besides I don't see the age gap stopping Elena and Stefan."

Damon ran a frustrated hand through his already messy hair. "Yeah and we both know the possible outcomes on that relationship, don't we." When Bonnie didn't respond he continued, "A. She has only about a year to decide if she wants to join fang gang before she starts looking older than him, B. Elena sucks it up, forgoes any thoughts of marriage and family and faces a future of being known as the town cougar, or C., the most likely, she and my brother break each other's hearts when the realize it just isn't going to work."

"You think that's what would happen to us..." the witch trailed off almost afraid to think that Damon had thought about the two of them being in a relationship.

"Bonnie, one of those options isn't even on the table for you. We both know that you'd be trading your witchy mojo for everlasting blood thirst." Damon dropped his eyes and chewed at his lower lip.

Bonnie's anger was getting the better of her. "Let's see, I've got what 5...6 years before really catching up to where you stopped aging. More than enough time to figure out what I'm willing to trade or keep." She placed a hand under the vampire's chin to force him to look at her. "You're afraid that I'll hurt you? Or is it that I'm just not worth taking the risk?" She dropped her hand and turned to leave. "Let me know when you decide what you want." she snarled over her shoulder.

Damon's hand shot out of its own accord and snatched her wrist. "I already know what I want." He growled as he tugged the girl back to him, hard.

Bonnie gasped as their mouths collided. Damon instantly gentled the kiss, cradling her face in his hands as his lips and tongue teased her into a new dance. Finally coming up for the air she needed, Damon rested his forehead against hers. "You are well worth the risk but I'm not so sure you'll end up feeling the same."

"Let me decide that." Bonnie assured him just before kissing him again.

The couple was interrupted by the sound of tennis shoes running down the hall followed by more determined heavy footsteps.

Damon leaned out of their hiding place, keeping Bonnie behind him until he was sure they were not noticed. "Go find Stefan." Bonnie then raced back to the gym as Damon headed down the hallway in the direction of the footsteps. He found the source just as Elena broke a mop handle in an attempt to stake the vampire attacking her. Silently he applauded her gumption but had Stef really taught her nothing about fighting vampires?

Speaking of which, little brother blurred past him to pull the punk off of Elena. By tag teaming him, the brother soon had their opponent on his knees. Bonnie joined them just as the little creep told them that Jonathon Gilbert's journal contained the whereabouts of Emily's grimoire. Damon gave Stefan honor of finishing him off and getting the body out of the school while Damon went to handle the person coming down the hall.

After doing a sweep of the building for any more surprises, Damon rejoined Bonnie at the dance. "The party crasher get escorted out?" he asked.

"Stefan is going to dump him off after taking Elena home."

"Ever the gentleman, my brother." The dance was thinning out significantly. "May I see you home Miss Bonnie?"

"Now who's being the gentleman?" Bonnie smiled as she allowed him to lead her over to his car.

They drove in companionable silence each stealing glances at the other.

"My dad is still away on business," Bonnie started as they walked up her porch steps. "Do you want to come in for a bit?"

"Not tonight," Damon began.

"But I thought.."

"I'm not backing away from this, I just want..." Damon picked up both of her hands. "When I met Katherine, things got very physical very fast."

"Damon I really don't need to hear what happened between you and her, okay."

"But you need to understand something." Damon pressed on, "I may have been older than you are now but the time, the attitudes, I might as well have been seventeen. I mistook a whirlwind of lust for love. I don't want that for us."

"Are you saying.."

"You said it yourself, we've got years to figure this out." Damon interrupted her, "If we're going to do this, let just enjoy the ride for a while, okay?"

Bonnie nodded. "Okay"

"Then tonight I will be a gentleman and leave you here at your doorstep."

"I hope not a complete gentleman."

"Maybe not a complete one, no." Damon leaned in and kissed her. After a moment, he placed his hands on her waist and stepped away from her. "Good night, Sweetheart."

Bonnie unlocked the front door and entered the house.

"Bonnie?" Damon called after her before she could shut the door. "Don't expect me to always be a gentleman."

"God I hope not," Bonnie laughed. "Good night Damon."


End file.
